Nalesniki Aka Crepes Recipes

NALYSNYKY (UKRAINIAN CREPES)

Steps:

• TO MAKE CREPES.
• In a bowl, using a hand held electric mixer, beat eggs until light and fluffy.
• Add milk, water, flour and salt and beat until all ingredients are incorporated and batter is smooth.
• Heat a 6 inch frying pan on medium heat.
• Butter the pan lightly and pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, swirling the pan until the batter spreads evenly in the pan.
• Cook crepes on medium heat for about 1 minute or until lightly browned.
• Bake on 1 side only, do not turn over.
• Continue to cook the crepes, buttering the frying pan each time.
• Place the cooked crepes on a platter and keep warm in the oven at 250°F.
• TO MAKE CHEESE FILLING.
• Place the cottage cheese in a cheese cloth and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
• Transfer the cheese to a mixing bowl.
• Add egg yolks, cream salt, and dill weed and mix to blend well.
• Remove warmed crepes from the oven and increase oven temperature to 350°F.
• Separate and place 1 crepe with the brown side down on a smooth surface.
• Spoon about 1 heaping tablespoon of cheese filling near one edge of the crepe.
• Start rolling the crepe over the filling, tuck in each side to prevent the filling from falling out, and continue to roll.
• Continue to fill and roll the remaining crepes.
• Place the finished nalysnyky into a lightly buttered 13 inch by 9 inch oven proof casserole dish in layers.
• Dot each layer with some butter.
• Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 20 minutes.
• Serve hot with melted butter, a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

MOM'S NALESNIKI (SURPRISINGLY EASY POLISH CREPES)

Steps:

• Combine the flour, salt, egg and 1/2 cup each of milk and water and blend with hand mixer.
• Keep adding the remaining milk and water until you get a batter that's a bit thinner than sour cream. I've included some pictures to get an idea, but it should be pretty runny.
• Heat a frying pan (approx. 9" diameter) over high heat and spray with non-stick spray (or coat with oil that can withstand high temperatures).
• Pour about one and a quarter soup ladle on the center of the hot, greased pan. Tilt the pan immediately to spread the batter around. Remember, the batter may look really thin in spots, but that's ok, it'll still flip once it's cooked through (this is where I always went wrong because it seemed too thin and I panicked, but if it gets too thick it won't set properly).
• Let cook for a few minutes, depending on how hot the pan is this could take from 1-3 minutes. You can tell when it's ready to flip when 1) the crepe slides around when you move the pan and 2) you don't see anymore soft or uncooked areas in the top of the crepe. They're pretty thin so you can literally see the runny sections firm up!
• Flip the crepe over and cook for 30seconds - 1 minutes then slide onto a plate.
• If folding with any mixture, place mixture on half of crepe, fold over then fold over again so you get a quarter triangle. Depending on the filling, they can be served immediately or if using cheese filling (described in the intro, adjust ingredients to your personal preference), fry them up in a bit of butter to get the outside crispy and melt the cheese a bit. For jam or apple sauce, we just roll them up and top with sour cream and/or sugar.

NALEśNIKI (POLISH SWEET OR SAVORY CREPES)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a blender or food processor , combine flour, milk, water, eggs, butter, and salt and process until smooth.
• Transfer batter to a pitcher. Cover the pitcher with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes so liquid can be absorbed by the flour.
• Heat a crepe pan or small skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with butter. Using a 2-ounce ladle, spoon 1 portion of batter into pan.
• Immediately rotate pan and swirl batter until it covers the entire bottom of the pan. Cook until crepe is lightly brown or spotted brown on underside. Flip and cook second side until it is light brown.
• Remove crepe to waxed paper or parchment paper and repeat with remaining batter. You may need to recoat the pan with butter as you cook crepes.
• Place 2 heaping tablespoons of savory filling or sweet filling on each naleśniki. Fold sides in first and then fold bottom up, rolling away from yourself, similar to an egg roll or burrito.
• Filled naleśniki should then be pan-fried in butter over medium-high heat or baked in a buttered casserole dish at 350 F until the filling is set.

BLINTZ CREPES

Steps:

• Melt the butter and set aside. Using a blender, mix the eggs, milk and flour at low speed. Add the orange liquor. Once the batter is well mixed and coats the spoon with a thin film, refrigerate, covered for 1 hour in a pitcher or bowl.
• Stir the batter thoroughly and before making the crepes, test the liquid by dunking a spoon in the mixture; again, it should coat the spoon with a thin film. Adjust by adding milk.
• Using at least two and up to four 7 to 8-inch nonstick pans, spray with oil, and heat the pans over medium-high heat. Pour about one cup of batter to coat one pan. Once covered, pour the batter out and into the next heated pan, pouring the remainder back into the pitcher or bowl. The thin layer of batter that remains on the pans will make a smooth, flexible crepe. When the crepes pull away from the edge of the pan (10 to 30 seconds), remove from the heat, tap them lightly or run a knife across the edge of the pan to release, and invert the crepes on a dry towel to cool. Stir the batter at brief intervals to re-suspend the ingredients.

NALESNIKI AKA CREPES

Steps:

• For the batter:
• Mix all the ingredients well in a blender and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• For the filling:
• In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, sugar and the cherries. Combine well and reserve.
• Spray a frying pan with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the pan and cook until firm (tan, not brown). Turn over and cook the other side. Transfer crepes to a large plate and repeat with remaining batter.
• Fill the crepes with the cheese filling and fold as desired. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot, with whip cream and chocolate powder.

CREPES-NALESNIKI W/SWEET CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• 1. With a whisk, beat eggs well. Add your milk, water, salt & oil and whisk together. While whisking together gradually add the flour and keep mixing till lump disappear. If there are still lumps in mixture allow it to sit several minutes and whisk again. This batter will be very thin.
• 2. Preheat pan over a medium-high heat. Make sure you are using a well seasoned 9-inch pan or non-stick pan and if need be brush a little oil on pan for the first crepe.
• 3. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan and twirl to coat the entire bottom with the batter.
• 4. Fry till lightly browned and flip crepe and lightly brown on other side about 20 seconds.
• 5. Stack all your crepes on a plate while making them.
• 6. SWEET CHEESE FILLING: Mash your cottage cheese well with a fork or potato masher & zest your lemon or orange. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well. We loved the strong flavor of lemon zest but you can add a smaller amount if you want.
• 7. Spread about 1 tablespoon cheese mixture across and off-center of crepe. The line of mixture should be about 1 inch wide. Try not to spread to the edge of the crepe or the filling may leak out.
• 8. Roll up crepes and fry lightly in butter.
• 9. Sprinkle crepes with powdered sugar and serve. You can add some fresh sliced fruit, homemade jam or just a drizzles of chocolate or caramel syrup. Whatever you love best. They taste incredible!