I stepped out of my cookie and cake comfort zone to try a recipe for something that, to be honest, is not my favorite. The Minnesota in me kept repeating, "you're a baker, you're from Minnesota, you should know how to make lefse" but the pragmatic voice in my head kept saying, "you think lefse is bland and flimsy and didn't even try it for the first time until you were 23 so the Minnesota in you shouldn't be concerned."
Before you Scandinavians shout, BLASPHEMY, I do find lefse good for one thing: getting butter and cinnamon sugar into my mouth.
In light of all of this, I went for it...and invited a true Scandinavian to my house to help. She was useless. Not entirely. She did bake delicious soft pretzels while the lefse cooked but she was of no help when it came to turning the lefse dough into actual lefse.
Even with the perfect tools, ingredients, and company, I failed. So I did what I felt was best: stopped trying. But what was I to do with the leftover dough? Then it came to me: latke-fy it (it is Chanukah, remember?). Add some salt, some onions, and fry it in a healthy dose of oil.
Ta-dah! Lefse latke nuggets.
If you are up for the challenge, give the recipe a try. Perhaps I needed more patience or different potatoes but I'd love to see some successful results.
Lefse
from Jul
Make the lefse: add melted butter to cold potatoes and stir until just combined. Add milk, sugar, salt, and stir until rough dough forms. Chill two hours or overnight.
Mix in flour. Form walnut-sized balls, keeping dough chilled during process: dough will rise when it warms. Use a rolling pin fitted with a sleeve to roll into thin rounds.
Use a long flat stick to transfer lefse to hot griddle. Cook until round begins to bubble up. Carefully fold edge of lefse to check for golden brown spots. Run the stick beneath the lefse and carefully flip the round, cooking in an additional minute or until the bottom side has light brown spots.
1/4 cup vegan butter, melted
4 cups riced potatoes, chilled
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
This post was done in partnership with Nordic Ware who sponsored this recipe by providing the griddle that was used in this recipe. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
