I know… it sounds wired, potato – Crêpes?! But you should give it a try.
Lefse is a traditional Norwegian potato crepe. Although we live nearby in the Nordic region we haven’t heard much about Lefse. But we are growing and eating a lot of potatoes. Lefse were often prepared during the Christmas time in Norway and topped with butter, sugar and cinnamon.
I had mixed feelings when I first found this recipe, but Eva from Adventures in Cooking encouraged me in her post to try it out. So I also decided to write a recipe with a little tweak from the original post and publish it. It is worth sharing 🙂
Potato might sound as a wired choice in a dessert. But I saw some cakes, here in Denmark, made of potato which I also wish to try now. Potato gives a good softness to the flour which is usually used to make crêpes. So crepes are softer and very round in taste. Lefse can be topped with the sweet or savory items. I used ham and cheese to try out savory version, but of course I needed to try it with a sweet topping, so I filled them with a homemade hazelnut-chocolade topping, strawberries and ice cream. I didn’t have a special tools to make Lefse or a griddle, but they turned out very well.
Makes2 portions
TimePreparation and cooking: 45 min
Ingredients
Lefse
- 1 kg potatoes
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 80 g flour
1
In a large pot cover the potatoes with a water. You don’t need to clean the skin. Boil them for around 40 min, or until soft inside. When they are done remove the water and clean the skin off. While potatoes are still warm mash them. The best is to use a potato ricer. Food processor might also work but potatoes can get a little too sticky that way.
- 1 kg potatoes
2
Add the other ingredients in a bowl with mashed potatoes: heavy cream, butter, sugar, salt, flour. Mix it all well together, but don’t overwork the dough, as potatoes will get very sticky and ask for more flour, which will make the lefse chewy.
- 100 ml heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 80 g flour
3
Take around 30 g of dough at a time and roll it into a ball. Refrigerate the balls for 30 min. When ready to make lefse take a ball at the time from the fridge and roll it out using a rolling pin with a sleeve. The easiest would be if you cover working surface with a piece of linen, so they don’t stick too much. You should roll the dough out to the thickness of 6-7 mm. While rolling the dough out and turning it around sprinkle once in a while with flour. If it is breaking apart too much add more cream next time.
4
Preheat the pan and place the lefse on. Cook for around a minute on each side or until you notice brown spots. When lefse is done place it in between a linen to keep it moist while preparing the rest of them. To serve them top with any kind of spread you like, sweet or savory.
