Family Traditions, Oh sweet Lefse

By Rustina

When I was a child, I always enjoyed holidays and all the fun family events. However, looking back, I didn't start to appreciate the time spent on the meal making until I was much older.

photo from my Mother and Sister My favorite dish for holidays is Lefse. Lefse is an amazing pancake-like creation of warm potato-y goodness. Officially, a traditional Norwegian potato flatbread brought over from the Norwegian immigrants as they became Americans in the 1800s and 1900s. My ancestors came to the US in the early 20th century and passed down the tradition to my parents and sisters.

I loved watching my parents and grandparents make lefse. And of course, the excitement when I got to try the lefse stick out for the first time. For reasons only a kid can understand, I refused to try it until I was 28 years old. My Dad was pretty happy that I finally gave in. I remember him joking about having to share it now :)

Traditionally, families would work together to help make it so the work was spread out and an assembly crew was formed. The last few years that I have made it, I think at least 3 people working together goes best.

If you are interested in making lefse for your family, here is a recipe:

Ingredients

10 lbs Russet Potatoes that have been peeled, boiled, and riced *

1 lb Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

2 tsp Salt

2 1/2 cups Flour

*After peeling and boiling potatoes, rice them into a larger bowl. Then cover with a tea towel and let cool overnight in the refrigerator.

Equipment

Electric Lefse Griddle

Corrugated Rolling Pin (and extra Rolling Pin Covers come in handy)

Lefse Stick

Potato Ricer

Flour Sifter

(Pastry Board and with extra Pastry Cloth Covers come in handy!

Instructions 1. Pull the potatoes from the refrigerator and let them warm up a bit. Separate the riced potatoes into 2 bowls. I like to get 1 bowl done, then go to the next because with littles, there is always a distraction!

2. Begin to add the flour at about 1/4 cup at a time to about 1 ¼ cups, with the 1/2 stick of cut up butter, and 1 tsp of salt. Knead the mixture until everything is well mixed. The dough should be like a pie dough. It should take ball form without sticking to your hands too much and not crumble when pressed. (If sticky add a little flour; if crumbling add a little butter)

3. About this time, you should start your griddle, heating to 400°F. Be careful what you set the griddle on so it does not damage the table or counter top.

4. Put the dough into small balls (just a bit bigger than a gum ball – not larger than a golf ball) to help keep a consistent size and keep your assembly line rolling!

5. Now comes the sometimes tricky part of flour ratio to dough ration when rolling! Flour your work area (easiest on a pastry board with a pastry cloth). You want enough flour so that your lefse will not stick, but not too much that your dough becomes flour balls. Begin to roll out your dough balls until it is about as thin as a tortilla.

6. Here you become a Jedi wielding your lefse stick to carefully wrap and lift this delicate piece of deliciousness and place it on the griddle.

7. Cook on the griddle until bubbles form, then flip to cook the other side so the bubbles are browned.

8. Place the lefse on a damp towel to cool slightly and then cover with a damp towel until ready to serve. Using a damp towel helps them retain moisture.

9. Serve and enjoy! If you have leftovers, you should probably send them to me LOL, but if you want to store them, fold and place in freezer baggies (about 6 months) or store flat between towels if refrigerating to be consumed soon.