Nalysnyky Recipes

NALYSNYKY (LYNN'S BLINTZ)

Steps:

• Sift the first four ingredients together and make a well in it.
• Beat the egg with the milk, water and lemon zest. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir well. The mixture will be lumpy.
• Butter a small fry pan (or crepe pan if you have one) and using a small gravy ladel (equal to about 2 tablespoons) to portion the batter, pour out about a small crepe. Swirl the pan to thin the crepe out and make about a 6" diameter.
• Fry over medium heat until the top of the crepe dries out and there is a slight color on the bottom side. Flip the crepe as you would a pancake.
• As the crepes cook, stack them on a plate and cover them with a clean towel so as to keep them from drying out.
• Blend the filling ingredients together and mash them with the back of a spoon to ensure that the cottage cheese is smooth.
• Spread the filling onto the crepe as you would when spreading a sandwich with butter (about 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon of filling/crepe).
• Roll the crepes up, cut them in 1/2 and layer them in a small buttered casserole.
• Brush each layer with melted butter.
• Cover and bake at 250F for 30 minutes.
• My MIL added a yolk to her crepe, and used all milk as the liquid. She also finely chopped onion and dill into the filling. She served this with a rich mushroom sauce. Yum! and completely different again!

NALYSNYKY (CREPES)

Steps:

• Mix the milk, whisked eggs, and flour well.
• Add the salt and make sure there are no lumps. Note: You can use water instead of milk too.
• Place a lump of butter into your very hot frying pan. Pour in the batter and swirl the batter around so that it spreads evenly around the pan. Fry lightly on both sides.
• Mix the filling: farmer's cheese, eggs, sugar, and salt. If you like a smooth texture, process the farmer's cheese in a food processor.
• Leave it as it is if you don't mind cheese lumps.
• Spread the filling onto the crepe and fold it. In Ukraine, sweet crepes are normally folded into rolls, not envelopes
• You can go either way afterwards: leave the rolled crepe as it is or cover it in whisked egg and fry it once again. The former version is served cold, and the latter one is served hot.
• Serve nalysnyky with sour cream and jam, honey, fresh berries or banana slices.
• Serve nalysnyky with sour cream and jam, honey, fresh berries or banana slices.
• Alternatively, you may opt for the apple and cinnamon filling.
• To prepare this filling, grate apples coarsely and sprinkle them generously with cinnamon and sugar.
• Mix well and leave in a large bowl for 10-15 minutes. Press any excess moist out to ensure that the mixture does not tear the crepe.

UKRAINIAN NALYSNYKY (SAVORY WITH DILL)

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE BATTER, mix eggs, milk, and 1 Tablespoon sugar together.
• Add vanilla and oil.
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and add to milk mixture, stirring until smooth.
• Using a greased frying pan, fry the batter into thin pancakes like you would do crepes using 1/4 cup of batter per crepe.
• Use a 7 inch non-stick crepe pan or any non-stick pan of that size.
• Swirl the batter around to cover pan.
• I use a brush to lightly brush pan each time with oil or butter.
• TO MAKE THE FILLING, mix cottage cheese, eggs, salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar and dill.
• Spread over each pancake with filling about 2 tablespoons and roll up like a jelly roll.
• Arrange on a well buttered casserole, and pour sweet cream over nalysnyky.
• Bake at 300 F, for 35 minutes. Uncover towards the end so that they will brown a little. Serve with sour cream. Makes about 12 nalysnyky.
• For dessert Nalysnyky leave out the dill in the cottage cheese and add a bit more sugar to taste if you wish.
• Wheatland Bounty.

UKRAINIAN CHEESE FILLED NALYSNYKY WITH VARIATIONS (CREPES)

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE NALYSNYKY: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, milk, sugar, and salt. Gradually add the flour, continuing to whisk until the batter is smooth. (This can be done in a food processor.) Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then stir the club soda into the batter.
• Heat a crepe pan or a 7-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it's very hot, brush the skillet with about 1/2 teaspoon of the clarified butter.
• Remove the pan from heat. Measure out about 2 1/2 Tablespoons of the batter and quickly pour it into the pan. Quickly rotate and tilt the pan until the batter covers the bottom completely. Fry one side until golden, about 1 minute. Turn, and fry on the other side for 10 seconds more. It should be paler than the first side. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
• Place a crepe on a cutting board, well-browned side up, and place 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling in a row slightly below center. Fold the closest end up over the filling, then fold both sides in toward the center and roll up as you would an egg roll. Repeat with the remaining crepes.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add as many crepes as fit comfortably and fry on both sides until golden, about 5 minutes.
• Repeat with the rest of the crepes, keeping the cooked ones warm in the oven. Sprinkle the nalysnyky with a sweet filling with confectioners' sugar before serving. Makes about 18.
• FOR THE SWEET FARMER'S CHEESE FILLING:.
• Process the farmer's cheese, sugar, and sour cream in a food processor, until smooth.
• Transfer to a bowl, add the raisins, if desired, and mix well. Filling enough for 18.
• FOR THE APPLE FILLING:.
• Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add as many apples as fit comfortably, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the apples, adding more butter as needed.
• Return the apples to the skillet, stir in the brown sugar and brandy and cook, stirring, over high heat, until the brandy reduces by half, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer the apples to a bowl and add cinnamon, if desired. Let the filling cool to lukewarm before filling the nalysnyky. Enough filling to fill 18.
• FOR THE MEAT FILLING:.
• Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned, about 15 minutes.
• In a large bowl, mix the onion thoroughly with the remaining ingredients. Makes enough to fill 18.
• NOTE:.
• The meat can be made either from beef, chicken, or turkey. They are served hot, accompanied by sour cream.
• For the cheese filling add 1 cup of well drained canned sour cherries to this classic filling instead of raisins. Sprinkle with confections' sugar and with sour cream on the side.
• For the apple filling pass a bowl of crème fraiche to dollop on. Don't feel confined to using only apples. Substitute apricots, peaches or a favorite berry.
• NOTE: Pot cheese is a medium dry cottage cheese, also known as pressed cottage cheese. If drained until dry and crumbly, it becomes farmer's cheese. Both pot cheese and farmer's cheese can be found in Eastern European grocery stores and cheese shops; many supermarkets also stock farmer's cheese.