Definition:
Few holiday foods are as typically Norwegian as lefse, the tortilla of the North. Made either from mealy potatoes or entirely from flour, lefse are rolled paper thin before being transferred on a special flat stick to a circular lefse griddle ... it takes a deft hand and a well-floured rolling pin to roll and bake a round of lefse without tearing it! They're then spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar, and either rolled up or folded into quarters before serving.
While generations of Scandinavian-American home chefs have passed down the basic recipes and techniques for making potato lefse, in Norway lefses and flatbread are also still commonly made from rye, wheat, and barley flours. Hardanger lefse, a flour lefse that can be stored for months (and which must be steamed / softened before use), probably dates back to the Viking age. There are also regional variants of lefse - one example is a favorite dish in the Salten area of the county of Nordland called Møsbrømlefsa - wheat or rye lefses which are spread with a thick, creamy brown cheese sauce, then folded into quarters and enjoyed.
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Pronunciation: LEFF-sa
Examples: Hand-rolling homemade potato lefse is still a rite of the holiday season for many Norwegian-American cooks.
Few holiday foods are as typically Norwegian as lefse, the tortilla of the North. Made either from mealy potatoes or entirely from flour, lefse are rolled paper thin before being transferred on a special flat stick to a circular lefse griddle ... it takes a deft hand and a well-floured rolling pin to roll and bake a round of lefse without tearing it! They're then spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar, and either rolled up or folded into quarters before serving.
While generations of Scandinavian-American home chefs have passed down the basic recipes and techniques for making potato lefse, in Norway lefses and flatbread are also still commonly made from rye, wheat, and barley flours. Hardanger lefse, a flour lefse that can be stored for months (and which must be steamed / softened before use), probably dates back to the Viking age. There are also regional variants of lefse - one example is a favorite dish in the Salten area of the county of Nordland called Møsbrømlefsa - wheat or rye lefses which are spread with a thick, creamy brown cheese sauce, then folded into quarters and enjoyed.
Please follow me as I explore the latest trends and developments in the exciting New Nordic Cooking Movement on Twitter~ Friend me and let's share favorite Scandinavian recipes and cooking tips on Facebook!
Pronunciation: LEFF-sa
Examples: Hand-rolling homemade potato lefse is still a rite of the holiday season for many Norwegian-American cooks.