Lefse Recipes

NORWEGIAN LEFSE

Steps:

• Cover potatoes with water and cook until tender. Run hot potatoes through a potato ricer. Place into a large bowl. Beat butter, cream, salt, and sugar into the hot riced potatoes. Let cool to room temperature.
• Stir flour into the potato mixture. Pull off pieces of the dough and form into walnut size balls. Lightly flour a pastry cloth and roll out lefse balls to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Cook on a hot (400 degree F/200 C) griddle until bubbles form and each side has browned. Place on a damp towel to cool slightly and then cover with damp towel until ready to serve.

BASIC LEFSE: NORWEGIAN POTATO FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 175 F. Peel the potatoes, making sure that no peels or eyes remain. Coarsely chop them into 1-inch pieces.
• In a stockpot, bring water to a boil and add the potatoes. Boil them until they are fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Drain the boiled potatoes well. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bring them into the hot oven for 15 minutes to dry them further.
• Remove the potatoes from the oven and pass them through a ricer . You need them to be finely riced, so twice through the ricer might give you a better texture. You should have at least 4 cups of riced potatoes.
• Mix in the heavy cream, butter, sugar, and salt.
• Mix well and place the potato dough in the refrigerator, covered, to chill overnight.
• Preheat a lefse griddle or your skillet of choice to 425 F. You need a very hot surface to properly cook the lefse. Use a pastry blender to cut the flour into the chilled potatoes, or vigorously knead the flour in until you have a smooth dough.
• With the help of an ice cream scoop, divide the dough into 16 to 20 biscuit-sized balls.
• Generously flour a pastry cloth or board and a rolling pin. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch circle, dusting with more flour as needed.
• Carefully lift the circle with a lefse stick or the handle of a flat wooden spatula. Transfer it quickly to the griddle.
• Cook the lefse on the griddle until brown spots begin to appear.
• Flip and cook the other side.
• Remove the cooked lefse to a plate lined with a damp clean cloth to cool. Cover with another damp cloth. Continue to cook the remaining dough balls until you've used all of the dough.
• Serve the lefse smeared with butter to taste and a sprinkle or two of sugar.
• Enjoy.

LEFSE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook potatoes until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well.
• Rice potatoes into a large bowl, continuing until you have 8 cups. Add oil, evaporated milk, sugar and salt, and mix well. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight.
• When ready to make lefse, add 2 1/2 cups flour and mix well. Divide dough into two logs if you have a lefse grill, and four if you do not. Dough should be sticky and hold together, but not so sticky it's impossible to work with; if necessary, add remaining 1/2 cup flour. Cut each log into 9 or 10 pieces, shape into small balls and place on plates in refrigerator.
• If you have a lefse grill, heat it to 400 degrees. If you don't have a lefse grill, set a wide, low-lipped nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
• Generously dust work space with flour and flour a rolling pin. Roll one dough ball in flour, then use the heel of your hand to press it into a thick disk. If you have a lefse grill, gently roll dough into a large, thin circle (if you are using a regular pan, roll into a thin circle just smaller than the size of your pan), lifting and flipping frequently so it doesn't stick; use more flour as needed. Brush excess flour from dough. Use a lefse stick to carefully transfer to grill (use a thin spatula if cooking in a pan). Cook for 1 minute, or until lefse is steaming and small bubbles appear on uncooked side. Using lefse stick or spatula, flip lefse and cook for 45 seconds or so. Place lefse on a clean dish towel and cover with another. Repeat, stacking lefse atop one another between the dish towels.

LEFSE

Steps:

• Place potatoes in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until tender, 10-12 minutes. Drain. Press through a potato ricer or strainer into a large bowl. Stir in cream, shortening, sugar and salt. Cool completely. , Preheat griddle over medium-high heat. Stir flour into potato mixture. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 6-8 times or until smooth and combined. Divide into 12 portions. Roll each portion between 2 sheets of waxed paper into an 8-in. circle., Place on griddle; cook until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove to a platter; cover loosely with a kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining portions. When cool, stack lefse between pieces of waxed paper or paper towels and store in an airtight container.

LEFSE

Steps:

• Peel and cook potatoes until well done. Then, mash cooked potatoes while still hot, and add lard, butter, salt, and cream. Mix ingredients together until smooth. After potato mix has cooled down, add flour and mix with hands (if dough feels too soft, add flour or if dough feels too hard add cream.) Form dough into a long roll or a round ball about the size of a tennis ball. Place into the refrigerator.
• Heat griddle to 450 degrees F or more.
• Remove dough from refrigerator, and roll onto well-floured cutting board until thin. Use a lefse stick or a long spatula to move the dough to the griddle. Watch closely, and when the sheet is bubbly all over, flip over and cook the other side. You may turn more then once to get the correct browning. Place the cooked lefse on a cloth and cover with another cloth. Add lefse in stacks of 6 and turn over after 6th one has been placed on top. When finished let cool before packaging.
• Serve with brown or regular sugar or butter. Add a thin slice of meat instead of sugar or butter for something different.

LEFSE

Steps:

• Mix together first 7 ingredients, then add flour until you have a stiff dough. Using a corrugated rolling pin, roll out dough into 8-inch circles that are 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick. Place circles, 1 at a time, in lefse pan or heavy frying pan. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
• The recipes for this program, which were provided by contributors and guests who may not be professional chefs, have not been tested in the Food Network's kitchens. Therefore, the Food Network cannot attest to the accuracy of any of the recipes.

NORWEGIAN LEFSE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl mix potatoes, milk, butter, salt and 3/4 cup of flour.
• Kneed briefly on lightly floured board, adding flour to make the
• dough non-sticky.
• Divide dough into 12 equal balls; roll each on lightly floured
• board into a circle paper thin.
• Lightly oil a heavy skillet or crepe pan; set over medium heat.
• Cook one at a time, until lightly browned, about one minute on
• each side.
• Stack on a plate with a paper towel in between each one.
• Freeze leftovers, and thaw throughout the year and enjoy a favorite anytime.

THE LOST ART OF LEFSE MAKING (STEP-BY-STEP)

Steps:

• SPECIAL EQUIPMENT.
• Potato Ricer.
• Electric Lefse Pan (or substitute electric griddle or nonstick griddle).
• Lefse Stick (substitute long wooden handle of spoon or even better, an unused wooden paint can stirrer).
• Grooved Lefse Rolling Pin (regular pin can work).
• Canvas covering for your rolling pin is also desirable.
• INSTRUCTIONS:.
• Night before making lefse, peel, dice (1 inch pieces or so) and cook potatoes in boiling water until tender (about 20 minutes). Drain and return to still warm cooking pot over just turned off burner to allow potatoes to let off any extra steam so they don't have extra water.
• Rice potatoes with potato ricer over butter/margarine until you have added 8 cups riced. Add sugar, salt, and vegetable oil. Stir until everything is melted.
• Store mixture overnight in cool spot covered with paper towel.
• Next morning, rice the mixture again through your potato ricer into a large bowl. Divide riced mixture into two batches.
• Sift and mix one cup flour into one batch. Place the other in refrigerator until later.
• Divide the batch you have added the flour to into 1/4 C to 1/3 C patties (smaller amount is easier for beginner). Keep two or three patties out for rolling. Refrigerate the remaining patties on a cookie sheet (keeping them cool helps with rolling with as little flour as possible, the key to really thin lefse).
• Heat your Electric Lefse Pan or if using griddle to medium heat.
• Flour rolling pin and board (if possible cover them with canvas and then flour). Roll each pattie as thin as possible, using flour as needed to prevent sticking, but as little as possible. Turn over once when rolling, lightly flouring board again.
• Using your lefse stick, place stick on left end of lefse. Flip dough over stick and roll to right to roll up lefse on stick.
• Place it on right side of Lefse pan or griddle and unroll. Lefse will begin bubbling and lightly browning. The more "bubbling " the more tender it will be. Use stick again to turn over and cook other side.
• Remove lightly browned round from lefse pan or skillet with lefse stick, fold round into quarters and let cool on paper towels. Overlap each folded round slightly as you let cool to prevent edges from drying out.
• Once finished with first batch, Mix one cup flour into remaining riced mix and repeat as above.
• Let lefse cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerating or freezing in plastic bags.
• Spread with butter, sprinkle with sugar, and warm slightly in microwave to eat in the traditional way.

LEFSE I

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix together the boiling water, shortening, milk, salt, sugar, and potato flakes. Place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled.
• After dough is thoroughly chilled, add the flour, using a pastry blender to cut in.
• Divide dough into 3 equal size portions. Form into 3 logs. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
• Heat an electric griddle to 375 degree F (190 degrees C).
• Divide logs into 8 pieces. Roll to about the size of a 10 inch tortilla. Work additional flour into rounds as needed. Use care to press lightly with rolling pin when forming into rounds as they are much more tender than pie dough. The weight of a large rolling pin is nearly enough.
• Bake on the griddle until each round feels dry but not crisp. Turn frequently.
• Cool on cloth. Cover with an additional cloth. Stack pieces on top of each other as they are baked. The steam will create a more tender product.