Nalysnyky - Cottage Cheese Stuffed Crepes

 

Crepes

2 Eggs

½ cup milk

3 tablespoons water

½ cup sifted flour

¼ teaspoon salt

Beat the eggs with a rotary beater until light, add milk, water and beat again.

Gradually add the flour and salt – continuing to beat with an egg beater as you add the flour.

Beat until smooth. The batter will be very thin.

To Fry Nalysnyky (crepes)

Pour a few tablespoons of the batter into the center (I use 2 full measuring spoons/not soup spoons) on a heated very slightly greased small frying pan. I use two small crepe pans that I bought at Home Sense, they are 4” in diameter. I wipe the pans with a greased soaked (not dripping) paper towel before frying each crepe.

Tilt the pan to distribute the batter evenly across the bottom. Cook the crepes over moderate heat. When lightly browned on the bottom and firm to the touch on top, remove the crepes. I put them (single layer) on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Once they are cooled I pile them on top of one another. They do not stick together. 

I continue frying the crepes until all the batter is used up. Making the crepes is very time consuming – I have made them one day and rolled the crepes the next day. You can wrap the crepes in small piles with parchment paper and put them in the refrigerator until you are ready to roll them. They roll very easy when they are cool.

Frying the crepes is also a very messy job so be prepared to end up with a very messy stove top and smoky kitchen. I have also fried them on a grill or large frying pan where you can do several at one time; you just have to develop the skill to distribute your batter to make a reasonably round 4” crepe.

Pointers on Frying the Crepes

1. The temperature of the pan must be just right. Preheat the pan to about 340-350 degrees. It must be hot enough to cook the crepes quickly otherwise they will be pale and heavy. At the same time, if the pan is too hot you will get a brown crust and the top does not have a chance to set.

2. When the first few air bubbles appear on the crepe, the bottom should be light brown and the crepe is ready to be taken out of the pan. The top side of the cake should be firm and pale.

Cottage Cheese Filling for Nalysnyky

2 cups dry cottage cheese (One 375 gram container equals about two cups)

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons or more sour cream (I add the 2 tablespoons of cream plus another 2 tablespoons of creamed salad dressing for better flavor. I use a Ranch dressing that has a blend of herb & spices.)

¼ teaspoon of salt

6 unsalted soup crackers - crushed very fine. (If you are using salted crackers do not put in any salt)

Combine ingredients with cheese and mix until you get a smooth mixture. More cream may be added if cheese mixture appears to be too thick or add more cracker crumbs if mixture is too thin. The mixture should be the consistently of mashed potatoes. It should stick together and not too loose.

Final Step in Making Nalysnyky

Butter the sides and bottom of a casserole.

Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling on the light side of each of the crepes and roll like a cabbage roll. The browned side should be on the outside. Flatten the roll slightly with the palm of the hand.

Arrange crepes in the buttered casserole in layers. Butter each layer and spread some sour cream over the cakes. Cover the casserole and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. They are ready when they puff up.