Kalakukko

Kalakukko is a traditional Finnish dish from the Savonia region made by baking fish, such as perch, vendace, loach, smelt or salmon, inside a loaf of rye bread, sometimes mixed with wheat flour. The filling also includes pork and bacon, seasoned with salt, and the whole loaf is baked for several hours, traditionally in a masonry oven, long enough to soften the fish bones completely and let the meat and fish juices meld through the moist interior. The dish is especially associated with the city of Kuopio, which hosts numerous bakeries producing it and an annual baking competition, and it received European Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status in 2002. Historically it served as a practical packed lunch for workers because it kept well unopened for extended periods.