I want to put in a word for ricing your potatoes, and even double ricing them! We peel, boil, rice, and mix in the butter and cream (not milk!) then chill in the fridge overnight. On day two we rice the cool mixture again, then mix in the flour. But we’re Minnesotans with all the gear, and we usually do 30 pounds of potatoes at a time. Lefse is usually a team sport, spouses, siblings, or parent and child.
Chef John: "First thing, let's bake a potato." My Norwegian Grandma: "get those leftover mashed potatoes out of the fridge. We're doing lefse." Good eatin' either way.
@@JakeLovesSteak Same here. We make a ton and they all get devoured. I usually would make pierogi the next day with leftover mashed potato, but it's a rare happening.
The sign of a true Scandanavian is cramming as many carbs and fats into one dish as possible. Nana would make lefse with homemade butter and serve it along with scalloped potatoes (butter, cream, sour cream, and 1-2 kinds of cheese) plus a meaty hot dish during dinner.
@@recoil53 there were probably rolls there, but they would have been a consolation prize for those too slow to stuff half a dozen lefse down their throats. That's why buttering these bad boys is key, you're gonna want something to lube their way down your gullet. Trying to call 911 is going to be difficult when a few of these puppies form a log jam in your esophagus. That's also why some people make little lefse tubes, a breathing hole comes in handy when you inevitably swallow one (or more) whole like you're a bloody anaconda.
Norwegian here: It is very common to spread with room temp butter and coat with sugar AND CINNAMON. If you want to make a buffet style lefse you can spread with cream cheese and top with smoked salmon/lox, thinly sliced red onions and arugula (or spinach). Or you can substitute the fish for salted smoked ham and the red onions for scallion or even leak. Most common ways these are eaten however is wrapped around a hotdog. Great vid tho. Been eating these my entire life and not once have I ever seen how they're made!
I've had this as a food wish for so long that I'd forgotten about it. Thank you, Chef John! The only - and I mean the *only* - gripe I have is that, while these lefse are delicious, they are much too thick. You should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through them when you roll them out. The amount of dough used here should make something like 18-24 lefse or more, depending on how pro and/or dangerous you're feeling on that day. The reason for all the expensive Norwegian lefse-making acoutrements you can buy from some websites is because they all help you make shockingly thin lefse much more easily with them than without them. Fortunately, while I was making the lefse inspired by this video, I developed a reasonably easy technique for making ultra-thin lefse without the specific gear, and I say this as someone who can barely roll out pie dough without it turning into a misshapen mass with holes torn in it. In addition to what is seen in this video, you will need: a French rolling pin, a silicone spatula with a reasonably long and thin handle (so, a cheap one), a griddle pan, and a pastry brush. 1. Make sure you have enough flour on your rolling surface. Like, you should have an embarrassing amount of flour. You will probably need a cup and a half or more just for rolling by the end. Make sure you keep that surface well-floured, especially where the center of the dough will be. 2. Flatten the lefse in the palm of your hand. The reason for using the palm is because you will naturally leave more in the center, which is what you want if you are going to roll them super-thin. 3. Dust your lefse liberally with flour whenever you even think it looks like it maybe might start to stick to anything. This dough is very forgiving and can accept a large amount of flour without affecting the texture, so use it! 4. Start rolling from the center outward, using no more pressure than what it takes to move the rolling pin. Change your angle to keep the dough round. Don't go all the way to the edges until you have made a few passes. 5. Once the dough is starting to get flat, apply a little more pressure and start going all the way to the edges. Use your flour liberally here. 6. Once you have the dough as flat as you dare - again, you should at least be able to see the pattern of the cloth underneath - lightly brush the excess flour off with the pastry brush. 7. Hold the cloth and press the tip of the rubber spatula against it. Gently slide the spatula underneath the middle of the dough, being careful not to move it too suddenly. Do not touch the dough or you will almost certainly tear it. 8. Once the tip of the spatula comes out the other side, use it as a second handle and take it over to your hot griddle pan. 9. Starting at the farthest side, carefully lay the dough on the griddle pan and start "rolling" the spatula toward you to lay out the rest. Do not pull on the dough. If you get any wrinkles, just keep going. Again, do not touch the dough. 10. Let the dough cook for a few seconds. If needed, fix any wrinkles after you lay out the dough by sliding the spatula under the dough and wiggling it a bit. 11. Use the pastry brush to remove the excess flour from the top of the lefse. The lefse is much more resistant to tearing once it has cooked a bit. 12. When you see the bottom starting to get brown, flip it with a spatula and cook the other side. Try not to flip it into the flour. 13. When the second side is cooked, move the lefse somewhere to keep it warm. I used a very low oven and a pan lined with paper towels. 14. Between each lefse, brush the excess flour off of the pan. Don't try making the next while one is cooking unless this is a team effort because you will burn it. Just be patient. Once you have some practice, it only takes about 30 seconds to roll out another sheet. 15. Enjoy!
Even though John is an accomplished as well as masterful chef, he also has comedic wit and timing that are equally masterful. I wonder if he’s ever thought of doing stand up?
I prefer savory lefse over sweet lefse but I've had them with homemade strawberry, blackberry, or lingonberry jam before and they're crazy delicious. My norwegian grandma was a little weird and didnt like fish so she usually served them with butter and jam on the side, but these would be awesome with salmon locks, salmon roe, smoked salmon, or pickled herring too!
Mary Sanchez: fair point. I’ve just always been partial to herring in wine sauce. Typically packaged with onion as well. To each their own though:) if chef John has taught me anything, it is “eat what you enjoy”:)
My grandmother and her sister "Tante-Lill" have over 160 years of experience of baking lefse. They are are 91 and 94 years old. I have the secret of the recipte , and it's all about the potatoes. In America it's called "Blue Almond", but there is a difference of those cultivated in the "mountains" vs. the lowlands. My olds are getting slow, but i will try to get you the recipte of the true, thin, potato-flavoured origin of lefse. Thank you for your channel!
Looks pretty good. I just made lefse with my family. It was a whole event. The dough was mixed & rolled into balls the night before. (We riced the potatoes) The dough was pretty moist, cold. We had two cloth covered rolling stations & two lefse irons. We had the rolling pins with lines & a hatch patterned cloth over it. One lefse stick for cold & hot. Lots of flour. We used 3-4 bath towels folded the hamburger way to steam the lefse in. It can stay pretty hot for a long while! It freezes fantastically. Once cooled and ready to package I'd put some paper towels in the bag to absorb moisture. Eat them quickly (a few days) or freeze. My favorite way to eat it is with salted butter and light brown sugar. 💖💖💖 - Minnesota grown, North Dakota is my new home. 😊
I've been to Norwegian dinners and the only time I've seen leftover lefse are when you purposefully hide some from everyone else. My cousin didnt do a good enough job hiding his stash once and we all ate the ones he was going to take home.
I grew up with lefse. To honor my Norwegian father, we make this every Christmas Eve. You did a great job! Thanks for spreading the word about this delicious treat! And oh yeah sure about store bought lefse!!☮️
We do Homemade Lefse every year for Christmas. Family tradition that runs for literally generations. Everyone gets together one day a year just to make enough lefse for an army. One of my favorite things ever. I love you're bringing this to thousands of people that have never heard of Lefse! Your technique is very... Interesting to say the least! But its Lefse none the less! Great job!
My great aunt makes lefse for Christmas every year. Our family has Norwegian heritage and her lefse is one of the ways we stay connected to our history. It's everyone's favorite!
I love you Chef John for making this! My grandma always makes is for Christmas and it's amazing, and don't forget to try it with butter and a bit of brown sugar.
Oh chef John… you’re one in a million! So enjoy your videos …your stellar humor. And, as a bonus, I always learn something new! Thank you for being you…
I've never burned my hand on the handle of a pan while taking it out of the oven. However, on many occasions I have burned my hand on the handle of a pan three seconds after taking it out of the oven. Listen to John: leave the towel on! You want to know when it usually happens? I'll take the pan out of the oven, with protection. And I'll set it down. And I'll think, "Handle's hot! Don't touch it!" And I need to flip something or stir it a little bit. So a grab a utensil and get to work. But now with all of this pushing, the pan is slipping and sliding around instead of holding still. So without any thought whatsoever, my free hand steps in to hold the pan steady. And that's how the free hand becomes the burned hand. The bunt hand? The burnt hand.
@@rickyricardo4718 I wouldn't buy into that too much without reputable confirmation. Also, here in the US, I'm hesitant to expose damaged skin to raw egg. The way we handle chickens and their eggs here leads to potential exposure to harmful pathogens.
My Norwegian grandma made the BEST lefse. Out of 6 children, 12 grandchildren and assorted spouses only 2 of her son-in-laws came close to hers. It amazing how something so simple is so finicky to take from good to great. At Christmas we has a lefse table. Butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, both light and dark brown sugar, apple jelly, blueberry jam, lingonberry jam, lemon curd, sour cream, smoked salmon and dill cream cheese spread. All home made. Us kids would swarm that table and eat until we got sick. She had the special roller and no one was allowed to touch it unless she was present. Thanks for bringing back some great childhood memories.
Oh, the happy memories!!!!! I remember the heavenly smell of the lefse cooking on the griddle in my mother's kitchen on Sunday nights. She'd use leftover mashed potatoes from our Sunday afternoon dinner. After rolling out the dough, she'd transport them to the stove griddle using the "lefse stick" she kept in the kitchen just for this purpose. :-) They'd never make it to the kitchen table. We'd slather the butter on them just before they got removed from the griddle. YUMMY!!!! Thank you so much for this video posting! Brought happy tears to my eyes. (Where did I grow up? San Diego, CA) Besides my mother's rolling pin, I got her lefse stick after she passed away.
I'm from Norway, and lefse is quite common here indeed! So awesome that you've made a video on this. I'd love to see your take on potetball one day (aka komle)
I live in Norway. What people often do here is to wrap a hotdog sausage, some potato salad, ketchup, and fried crunchy onion in a lefse. A sweet version, like you said, would be with cinnamon sugar and butter. Nice recipe, chef John!
I'm crying like a baby just remembering watching my grandma make these and us kids fighting who gets the next one off the grill. We would put butter, cinnamon and sugar or her freezer jam or it and it was so good. Been along time and thanks for taking me down memory lane.
Wow can you believe chef john has been doing this food wishes channel for 13 years since 07' he is hands down the #1 chef on UA-cam and yes I'm in including Ramsay love you chef john plz never stop
Thanks chef John for this simple way to make lefse! Every Christmas we have lefse with mashed potatoes and cod rolled up inside of lefse! It’s delicious with melted butter and garlic!
I LOVE your videos Chef John! You are hilarious and smart and creative and I look forward to your videos :) I REALLY like how patient and kind you sound for all of us learning your recipes.....THANK YOU for everything!
Congratulations John, this is the first video you've ever done that made me cry. My grandmother was Norwegian and this was her specialty, she made it for all kinds of special dinners when i was growing up and me and my cousins would fight over her lefse and her homemade sweet cream butter. She passed away last year and it p***ed me off to no end that one of my cousins ran off with a bunch of my grandmothers cooking stuff (which she promised to me before she died) like the 70+ years of handwritten recipe cards she'd made and collected from her sisters, mother, and other Norwegians and her special lefse rolling pins. I've kept a civil tongue with my relatives for my grandfathers sake (he's a peaceful man who's reaching his last days) but when he's gone I'm going to show my cousin exactly what kind of man I am, raise Holy Hell, and get those back so I can finally make Nana's Famous Lefse. I'm part Norwegian and part Scottish, I got the height of the Nordmenn and the temper of the Scotsman.
This post means so much to me. My mom would make this every year. Two years ago she was diagnosed with ms. She went from cooking and leading a normal life to being bed bound in a matter of months. :(
Had a friend from a little town north of Minneapolis, "little Sweden ", who would gather all family and friends together to make lefsa. Fun and delicious, looked a lot like yours.
I love love love lefse!!!! My first Admin assistant’s family had a place in Door County WI that hand made Norwegian cookies, pastries etc and she would always bring me lefse when she visited!!!! Oh what a treat!!!! Nothing like it!
Lefse in the store is so thick. My family has a special lefse rolling pin in order to roll it out super thin. It is delicate and tender, not stiff at all.
There are as many variants of lefse as there are villages in Norway though. Some kinds are supposed to be quite thick, for examle lefse from northern Norway. They’re actually called tjukklefse (thick lefse), there are no potatoes in them, and I’ve seen recipes where they actually bake them in the oven, not on the takke/griddle. But tynnlefse (thin lefse) should be rolled out so thin that you can read a newspaper through it. So good on you for achieving that :-)
Oh my goodness! Thank you for this recipe!!! I was spoiled and raised by my Grandma who would make these. She would butter one, place cinnamon & sugar mix over butter and top with another lefse! Then she would cut them into pizza like slices and that was an after school snack sometimes 😱🥰👍
Another weird Norwegian thing is that Taco is basically our national dish now. Although I would guess we do them waaaay less spicy than the Mexicans mostly.
We have something really similar in Finland called Rieska (or Perunarieska to be more precise), but we just use eggs instead of cream. Tastes amazing with cold smoked reindeer and cream cheese.
Thank you for this, my husband is Norwegian and this is one of the foods he misses the most. They are impossible to find in the uk. Definitely will be giving them ago.
I have many fond memories of watching my aunt make lease for the holidays. She filled a jumbo round short bread tin ( you know, the blue one) and then fought it to Thanksgiving and Christmas, where she softened them between damp towels in the microwave and slathered with butter and cinnamon sugar. I will never forget snitching those yummy little pinwheels from the cutting board.
I grew up with Lefse. My mom usually just made it from leftover mashed potatoes. So many uses. A friend once described it as a potato tortilla. Thank you for sharing.
Actually, with the shape and size of these, I’d say they are more like “Lompe” than “Lefse” but who cares - These look amazing! Best hot dog wrappers, too! I grew up on these in Norway and they can be hard to find in the states. I will definitely give this recipe a try. Thanks for making this video!
To 'Old Norwegians' there are only a few spices, salt and pepper . . . and then Parsly if you're 'Modern' *S* Ohh . . . and then Onion and other root vegetables *S* And a few herbs . . .
In Decorah, Iowa, at the farmers market, you'll find fresh home made lefse, and it's very very good. I grew up eating lefse, made by my mother, or one of my many aunts. Have some almost every Christmas. Try using a little less flour. You're making lefse, not tortillas. Very much surprised to see Chef John make these, much less than having him know what they are. I'm very much impressed. Love your work!
My Husband's faminly makes lefse every year around christmas. It's the only time they all have the day off to make it! It's really a process and they make enough for the whole year! Very tasty with sugar and butter, as is traditional, or with a little cinnamon.
DO NOT follow this ..... this is NO WHERE NEAR authentic lefse!!!!! It is actually an insult to us of Norwegian heritage! Both my grandmother and mother would be rolling in their graves if they saw this video!
@@GilMichelini My mom and grandmother used left over mashed potatoes.... and you just work in enough flour to be able to handle it... and they both always said, the less you handle it the better. You MUST have a lefse roller to roll it.... and a hot, dry griddle.
I have a North Dakota small town church cookbook that all my Norwegian aunts and grandma gave recipes to be printed. There was a whole chapter on Lefsa and every single one of them was different. Some without potatoes! So you can’t really say there’s one way to make it. There seems to of been a number of ways that were different in each household. I have been making these since I was 10 with my brother. We didn’t really follow any recipe. We just used mashed potatoes and lots of flour and some water. We would fry them up like pancakes and cover them with butter and sugar and eat eat them up before mom got up!! We loved them.
You are very much correct in thinking your blisters look authentic John! My very favorite way of enjoying lefse is with a good spreadable cream cheese, dried cured ham and arugula salad. It's a savory treat with a peppery bite. You'll usually find it anywhere you'd find lefse with salmon.
Woah! This was a blast from the past! Many years ago I lived in a small rural town nicknamed 'Little Sweden ' because of the dense population of Swedish immigrants. Had a friend who made lefse and had everyone over for a party. Good times and great food. Thanks
Start by boiling water then proceed from there. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you're going for the non-bachelor life I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be pleased with a homemade meal for a date. If you're looking to stay a bachelor you'll eat better and save some money by not going out. Win win
Michael, it's a basic life skill. You need to nourish your body and soul. Start with a simple recipe like this one, with few ingredients and a high probability of success. And butter + sugar, or lox + sour cream and dill... or a tart berry jam... they can upgrade any imperfections! We all take practice! I hope you give it a whirl! :)
Mom always served these with pea soup. Always with butter, sugar and cinammon. Got me to love the pea soups!! Whenever she served these at a family gathering, they got eaten first...so delicious ooftah.
Memories from childhood growing up in MN. Mostly we did have them with butter/sugar, but added a little cinnamon sometimes. These were especially abundant during the Christmas holiday.
@@supern00b25 I actually remember my dad saying that while eating sausage haha! We had a cottage in Trysil and he would always eat pölse and lompe after skiing! :)
Hey, now... every supermarket in Norway has packs of lefse -- or, to be specific: lompe (o like oo) -- because they're what Norwegians wrap hotdogs in (or cream cheese and smoked salmon). Though, Norwegians don't use lefse (lompe) on those ridiculous, processed US frankfurters. We use them on ridiculous, processed Vienna-style smoked links instead. As for butter (and sugar)... I gue--- NO, USE THEM FOR SAVOURY STUFF. They're great. You're missing out. You should buy some.
Thank you for making this recipe Chef John!!!!! My family gets together on Thanksgiving or Christmas and the whole family makes this together! We have a competition to see who can get the perfect size, shape, and thickness!!! By far one of my favorite things to eat!
My great aunt Inga always made these around the holidays, usually served with butter and cinnamon sugar or freezer jam and cream cheese wow! Brings back great memories.
Being an indian and have visited norwegia so many times i can assure you that the lefse tastes much different and a bit more softer than what the aaloo ka paratha tastes like ....
I grew up with lefse made for Christmas mostly You did a great job. We did not poke before cooking and liked the resulting big bubbles Actually, we liked the brown spots cooked darker... to almost burned This adds a special flavor IMO the other thing.... these are delicious with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar when you roll them up My moms friends competed to see who could roll the thinnest lefse The challenge is that the thinner rolling starts sticking to the towel As well as starting to use more flour and therefore dryer and tougher But THERE was the art
I'm Norwegian and I have never even thought about the process of making these, so this was cool Also, adding cinnamon as well as sugar and butter is really good! Theyre also really good with hot dogs haha
In Czech R. we got something similar to this just thicker about 2/3 of inch and we put in pork cracklings,we use left over potatos or mash or any cooked potatos,it was very traditional food,last time I had it like 30 ya,thanks for bringing nostalgia back.
YES! Omg my grandma had that too! I always thought it looked like she cut off the top of a long sock, lol. Really helped keep things from sticking, but I have no idea where you get one now?
Our family's nickname for lefse is "shingle bread." Four generations of us at a time would gather in my grandma's kitchen to make lefse together. Best days ever! It's still my all-time most favourite flatbread.
Check out the recipe: www.allrecipes.com/recipe/278136/norwegian-potato-flatbread-lefse/
Could we get a recipe without a nag-screen, please.
there were no Leftoverse!!!
Is your source Molly Yeh?
Hot tip from Norway: Use a lefse instead of a bun for your hot dog.
Sounds bomb
That sounds great, fill some chili and cheese in there too, before you wrap it like a burrito
Tusen takk
That’s what we did when we went to a bbq in Norway with friends and it was so good!
And if you want to eat it the butter and sugar way, don't forget the cinnamon!
I want to put in a word for ricing your potatoes, and even double ricing them! We peel, boil, rice, and mix in the butter and cream (not milk!) then chill in the fridge overnight. On day two we rice the cool mixture again, then mix in the flour. But we’re Minnesotans with all the gear, and we usually do 30 pounds of potatoes at a time. Lefse is usually a team sport, spouses, siblings, or parent and child.
Ricing really makes a difference!
My wife (who makes about 150 lbs of lefse a year) said you probably set a world record for the smallest amount of lefse ever made.
I was fascinated by the one potato’s worth of lefse concept! We usually do 30# of potatoes per session.
Hahaha yeah. I thought the same thing. Adorable though. Love this guy.
😂
Chef John: "First thing, let's bake a potato." My Norwegian Grandma: "get those leftover mashed potatoes out of the fridge. We're doing lefse." Good eatin' either way.
Leftover mashed potatoes don't exist in my house...
@@JakeLovesSteak Same here. We make a ton and they all get devoured. I usually would make pierogi the next day with leftover mashed potato, but it's a rare happening.
OMG! Literally just thinking this afternoon, what could I do with these leftover mashed potatoes!! 😄
Sandra Marks IMO they are actually BETTER when made with leftover mashed potatoes.
If you dont have a gunny sack of potatoes in your garage or cellar, and a bowl full of leftover potatoes in the fridge, are you even Norwegian?
Potatoes and Bread at the same time?!?! You know the way to my heart.
The sign of a true Scandanavian is cramming as many carbs and fats into one dish as possible. Nana would make lefse with homemade butter and serve it along with scalloped potatoes (butter, cream, sour cream, and 1-2 kinds of cheese) plus a meaty hot dish during dinner.
@@arthas640 No bread rolls with that?
@@arthas640 And she was probably a great addition to the scourge
Cottage pie on bread is really good
@@recoil53 there were probably rolls there, but they would have been a consolation prize for those too slow to stuff half a dozen lefse down their throats. That's why buttering these bad boys is key, you're gonna want something to lube their way down your gullet. Trying to call 911 is going to be difficult when a few of these puppies form a log jam in your esophagus. That's also why some people make little lefse tubes, a breathing hole comes in handy when you inevitably swallow one (or more) whole like you're a bloody anaconda.
Norwegian here: It is very common to spread with room temp butter and coat with sugar AND CINNAMON.
If you want to make a buffet style lefse you can spread with cream cheese and top with smoked salmon/lox, thinly sliced red onions and arugula (or spinach). Or you can substitute the fish for salted smoked ham and the red onions for scallion or even leak.
Most common ways these are eaten however is wrapped around a hotdog.
Great vid tho. Been eating these my entire life and not once have I ever seen how they're made!
@aprilialover125 Butter, Cinnamon & Sugar Exactly how we use to eat them in Northern MN!
You're making me hungry, stop
Lompe!!!! Not lefse😭
And don’t forget cured ham... Even cheese would work.
@@ameagari8003 - Lompe is just small potato lefse.
I love that you say «lefse» so many times!😄 Norway approves of this video!!👏
I've had this as a food wish for so long that I'd forgotten about it. Thank you, Chef John!
The only - and I mean the *only* - gripe I have is that, while these lefse are delicious, they are much too thick. You should be able to see the pattern of the cloth through them when you roll them out. The amount of dough used here should make something like 18-24 lefse or more, depending on how pro and/or dangerous you're feeling on that day. The reason for all the expensive Norwegian lefse-making acoutrements you can buy from some websites is because they all help you make shockingly thin lefse much more easily with them than without them.
Fortunately, while I was making the lefse inspired by this video, I developed a reasonably easy technique for making ultra-thin lefse without the specific gear, and I say this as someone who can barely roll out pie dough without it turning into a misshapen mass with holes torn in it. In addition to what is seen in this video, you will need: a French rolling pin, a silicone spatula with a reasonably long and thin handle (so, a cheap one), a griddle pan, and a pastry brush.
1. Make sure you have enough flour on your rolling surface. Like, you should have an embarrassing amount of flour. You will probably need a cup and a half or more just for rolling by the end. Make sure you keep that surface well-floured, especially where the center of the dough will be.
2. Flatten the lefse in the palm of your hand. The reason for using the palm is because you will naturally leave more in the center, which is what you want if you are going to roll them super-thin.
3. Dust your lefse liberally with flour whenever you even think it looks like it maybe might start to stick to anything. This dough is very forgiving and can accept a large amount of flour without affecting the texture, so use it!
4. Start rolling from the center outward, using no more pressure than what it takes to move the rolling pin. Change your angle to keep the dough round. Don't go all the way to the edges until you have made a few passes.
5. Once the dough is starting to get flat, apply a little more pressure and start going all the way to the edges. Use your flour liberally here.
6. Once you have the dough as flat as you dare - again, you should at least be able to see the pattern of the cloth underneath - lightly brush the excess flour off with the pastry brush.
7. Hold the cloth and press the tip of the rubber spatula against it. Gently slide the spatula underneath the middle of the dough, being careful not to move it too suddenly. Do not touch the dough or you will almost certainly tear it.
8. Once the tip of the spatula comes out the other side, use it as a second handle and take it over to your hot griddle pan.
9. Starting at the farthest side, carefully lay the dough on the griddle pan and start "rolling" the spatula toward you to lay out the rest. Do not pull on the dough. If you get any wrinkles, just keep going. Again, do not touch the dough.
10. Let the dough cook for a few seconds. If needed, fix any wrinkles after you lay out the dough by sliding the spatula under the dough and wiggling it a bit.
11. Use the pastry brush to remove the excess flour from the top of the lefse. The lefse is much more resistant to tearing once it has cooked a bit.
12. When you see the bottom starting to get brown, flip it with a spatula and cook the other side. Try not to flip it into the flour.
13. When the second side is cooked, move the lefse somewhere to keep it warm. I used a very low oven and a pan lined with paper towels.
14. Between each lefse, brush the excess flour off of the pan. Don't try making the next while one is cooking unless this is a team effort because you will burn it. Just be patient. Once you have some practice, it only takes about 30 seconds to roll out another sheet.
15. Enjoy!
Even though John is an accomplished as well as masterful chef, he also has comedic wit and timing that are equally masterful. I wonder if he’s ever thought of doing stand up?
"Standup Cookedian"
He stands up all the time ... 🤭 I'll see myself out! 😫
Looks like he's 'standing up ' now! Combine humor with cooking = genius! MENSA should contact Chef John!
Of course he has, which is why he has over 3mil subs! Oh, and he also does a little cooking on the side. :)
Lefse roll is so good. Smoked salmon and creme cheese rolled up in lefse. Yum.
....add thin red onion slices, and capers!
Lefse, pickled herring, a little onion, maybe a smear of sour cream. So good
I prefer savory lefse over sweet lefse but I've had them with homemade strawberry, blackberry, or lingonberry jam before and they're crazy delicious. My norwegian grandma was a little weird and didnt like fish so she usually served them with butter and jam on the side, but these would be awesome with salmon locks, salmon roe, smoked salmon, or pickled herring too!
Ja!
David, Why not just buy it as schmaltz herring? The cream and onion are already in it.
David Beck omg! Sounds yum
Mary Sanchez: fair point. I’ve just always been partial to herring in wine sauce. Typically packaged with onion as well. To each their own though:) if chef John has taught me anything, it is “eat what you enjoy”:)
My grandmother and her sister "Tante-Lill" have over 160 years of experience of baking lefse. They are are 91 and 94 years old. I have the secret of the recipte , and it's all about the potatoes. In America it's called "Blue Almond", but there is a difference of those cultivated in the "mountains" vs. the lowlands. My olds are getting slow, but i will try to get you the recipte of the true, thin, potato-flavoured origin of lefse. Thank you for your channel!
I've made these using a sweet potato.... Wow! Hot smothered in butter and a dribble of syrup. Outstanding.
Thanks...Will do.
That sounds really pretty!
Looks pretty good. I just made lefse with my family. It was a whole event. The dough was mixed & rolled into balls the night before. (We riced the potatoes) The dough was pretty moist, cold. We had two cloth covered rolling stations & two lefse irons. We had the rolling pins with lines & a hatch patterned cloth over it. One lefse stick for cold & hot. Lots of flour. We used 3-4 bath towels folded the hamburger way to steam the lefse in. It can stay pretty hot for a long while! It freezes fantastically. Once cooled and ready to package I'd put some paper towels in the bag to absorb moisture. Eat them quickly (a few days) or freeze. My favorite way to eat it is with salted butter and light brown sugar. 💖💖💖 - Minnesota grown, North Dakota is my new home. 😊
Were there any lefse over? :-)))
I've been to Norwegian dinners and the only time I've seen leftover lefse are when you purposefully hide some from everyone else. My cousin didnt do a good enough job hiding his stash once and we all ate the ones he was going to take home.
Lefsovers? Nah...:-) you betcha!
Take my thumbs up and get out.
My Grandfather used to make Lefse for us when I was a child. I haven’t heard anybody mention this tasty treat in ages. Yum 😋
I grew up with lefse. To honor my Norwegian father, we make this every Christmas Eve. You did a great job! Thanks for spreading the word about this delicious treat! And oh yeah sure about store bought lefse!!☮️
We do Homemade Lefse every year for Christmas. Family tradition that runs for literally generations. Everyone gets together one day a year just to make enough lefse for an army. One of my favorite things ever.
I love you're bringing this to thousands of people that have never heard of Lefse! Your technique is very... Interesting to say the least! But its Lefse none the less! Great job!
As someone who grew up with lefse on the regular, seeing it described so plainly as "Norwegian potato flatbread" shook me a bit.
Lefse and flatbread in Norway are NOT the same thing.
And these looks like lomper 😅
@@MHarila agreed, I almost linked a recipe for flatbread and then thought he didn't need the snark
My great aunt makes lefse for Christmas every year. Our family has Norwegian heritage and her lefse is one of the ways we stay connected to our history. It's everyone's favorite!
I love you Chef John for making this! My grandma always makes is for Christmas and it's amazing, and don't forget to try it with butter and a bit of brown sugar.
Oh yeah! The best!
I grew up in MN, and although not Norwegian, I had friends that were.
They always made it usin leftover mashed potatoes.
Chef John, I love how you make ethnic recipes. Your tutorials make cooking look easy and enjoyable.
Oh chef John… you’re one in a million! So enjoy your videos …your stellar humor. And, as a bonus, I always learn something new! Thank you for being you…
I've never burned my hand on the handle of a pan while taking it out of the oven. However, on many occasions I have burned my hand on the handle of a pan three seconds after taking it out of the oven. Listen to John: leave the towel on!
You want to know when it usually happens? I'll take the pan out of the oven, with protection. And I'll set it down. And I'll think, "Handle's hot! Don't touch it!" And I need to flip something or stir it a little bit. So a grab a utensil and get to work. But now with all of this pushing, the pan is slipping and sliding around instead of holding still. So without any thought whatsoever, my free hand steps in to hold the pan steady. And that's how the free hand becomes the burned hand. The bunt hand? The burnt hand.
Im dealing with a burn right now
Just heard, immediately run cold water to stop the damage, then get egg white on a burn ASAP to minimize restoration time. Supposed to be miraculous.
@@rickyricardo4718 I wouldn't buy into that too much without reputable confirmation. Also, here in the US, I'm hesitant to expose damaged skin to raw egg. The way we handle chickens and their eggs here leads to potential exposure to harmful pathogens.
My fingers yesterday 😊😊 i have 4 🩹 bandages on and then returned to burn my other hand when the dish wasn’t done 😊😊😊
Explanation of the year👌
My Norwegian grandma made the BEST lefse. Out of 6 children, 12 grandchildren and assorted spouses only 2 of her son-in-laws came close to hers. It amazing how something so simple is so finicky to take from good to great. At Christmas we has a lefse table. Butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, both light and dark brown sugar, apple jelly, blueberry jam, lingonberry jam, lemon curd, sour cream, smoked salmon and dill cream cheese spread. All home made. Us kids would swarm that table and eat until we got sick. She had the special roller and no one was allowed to touch it unless she was present. Thanks for bringing back some great childhood memories.
Grew up with family making and eating them, we always add cinnamon as a topping or butter when it’s still warm
I'm glad I kept my eyes peeled for this recipe, looks flat out awesome!
@Bruce Wayne lol yup, two for one! 😁
@NamedKitten hey thanks!
Oh, the happy memories!!!!! I remember the heavenly smell of the lefse cooking on the griddle in my mother's kitchen on Sunday nights. She'd use leftover mashed potatoes from our Sunday afternoon dinner. After rolling out the dough, she'd transport them to the stove griddle using the "lefse stick" she kept in the kitchen just for this purpose. :-) They'd never make it to the kitchen table. We'd slather the butter on them just before they got removed from the griddle. YUMMY!!!! Thank you so much for this video posting! Brought happy tears to my eyes. (Where did I grow up? San Diego, CA) Besides my mother's rolling pin, I got her lefse stick after she passed away.
I'm from Norway, and lefse is quite common here indeed! So awesome that you've made a video on this. I'd love to see your take on potetball one day (aka komle)
Komle, now we are talking!!!
@@CATOBOEING One of my favorites; grew up with it, but in the town I'm from, they call it potetball.
@@CATOBOEING I would love some potet ball with salted Lam.
@@ojtheviking yes you are right - I said potet ball, which wrong, but potetball is correct. Jeg er fra Romsdal.
@@ag6797 Jeg er fra Sunnmøre, så vi er praktisk talt naboer, haha. Bortsett fra at jeg flyttet til Hedmark i 2013.
I live in Norway. What people often do here is to wrap a hotdog sausage, some potato salad, ketchup, and fried crunchy onion in a lefse. A sweet version, like you said, would be with cinnamon sugar and butter. Nice recipe, chef John!
I'm crying like a baby just remembering watching my grandma make these and us kids fighting who gets the next one off the grill. We would put butter, cinnamon and sugar or her freezer jam or it and it was so good. Been along time and thanks for taking me down memory lane.
Dave Hanson what is freezer jam? PS it is good to have sweet memories (-8
Wow can you believe chef john has been doing this food wishes channel for 13 years since 07' he is hands down the #1 chef on UA-cam and yes I'm in including Ramsay love you chef john plz never stop
I have been keeping score at home Chef John, you're definitely winning.
Thanks chef John for this simple way to make lefse! Every Christmas we have lefse with mashed potatoes and cod rolled up inside of lefse! It’s delicious with melted butter and garlic!
3:50 You are after all the chef John of how much more to pile on! =D you make me so hungry
I LOVE your videos Chef John! You are hilarious and smart and creative and I look forward to your videos :) I REALLY like how patient and kind you sound for all of us learning your recipes.....THANK YOU for everything!
Congratulations John, this is the first video you've ever done that made me cry. My grandmother was Norwegian and this was her specialty, she made it for all kinds of special dinners when i was growing up and me and my cousins would fight over her lefse and her homemade sweet cream butter. She passed away last year and it p***ed me off to no end that one of my cousins ran off with a bunch of my grandmothers cooking stuff (which she promised to me before she died) like the 70+ years of handwritten recipe cards she'd made and collected from her sisters, mother, and other Norwegians and her special lefse rolling pins. I've kept a civil tongue with my relatives for my grandfathers sake (he's a peaceful man who's reaching his last days) but when he's gone I'm going to show my cousin exactly what kind of man I am, raise Holy Hell, and get those back so I can finally make Nana's Famous Lefse. I'm part Norwegian and part Scottish, I got the height of the Nordmenn and the temper of the Scotsman.
How did it go?
I luv the sense of community around Chef John's recipes!!
We Minnesotans appreciate this, chef John! 👍🏻
Tom Dodds+++ You Betcha!!
I’m dating a Minnesotan and I’m from Cali...he said these are yummy.
This post means so much to me. My mom would make this every year. Two years ago she was diagnosed with ms. She went from cooking and leading a normal life to being bed bound in a matter of months. :(
Lefse is one of my favorite treats during the holidays. You are correct that butter and sugar is the correct way to enjoy them.
Had a friend from a little town north of Minneapolis, "little Sweden ", who would gather all family and friends together to make lefsa. Fun and delicious, looked a lot like yours.
As a child in Northern Norway, they were always served to me by my mormor with a butter, cinnamon and sugar filling. Happy memories : )
I love love love lefse!!!! My first Admin assistant’s family had a place in Door County WI that hand made Norwegian cookies, pastries etc and she would always bring me lefse when she visited!!!! Oh what a treat!!!! Nothing like it!
Lefse in the store is so thick. My family has a special lefse rolling pin in order to roll it out super thin. It is delicate and tender, not stiff at all.
There are as many variants of lefse as there are villages in Norway though. Some kinds are supposed to be quite thick, for examle lefse from northern Norway. They’re actually called tjukklefse (thick lefse), there are no potatoes in them, and I’ve seen recipes where they actually bake them in the oven, not on the takke/griddle. But tynnlefse (thin lefse) should be rolled out so thin that you can read a newspaper through it. So good on you for achieving that :-)
I had It for the first time fresh off the flat top sooooo good!
Oh my goodness! Thank you for this recipe!!! I was spoiled and raised by my Grandma who would make these. She would butter one, place cinnamon & sugar mix over butter and top with another lefse! Then she would cut them into pizza like slices and that was an after school snack sometimes 😱🥰👍
I had no idea Norwegians had their own “tortilla”! Love it when I learn about a food that’s new to me.
Another weird Norwegian thing is that Taco is basically our national dish now. Although I would guess we do them waaaay less spicy than the Mexicans mostly.
Nia Lin the rosettes Norwegians make are bunuelos like in Mexico. I think Leif Erickson made it further south than north america😀
Everyone has some kind of flat bread. Everyone.
Yeah every culture in the world has some kind of crepe/pancake/flatbread
@@elcidbob Except for us Americans (U.S.A.) We just steal everyone else's versions.
We have something really similar in Finland called Rieska (or Perunarieska to be more precise), but we just use eggs instead of cream. Tastes amazing with cold smoked reindeer and cream cheese.
Floured towel tip is great chef! This is the answer to many of my problems! TY
My son-in-law is Norwegian. Lefse is served at all our holiday dinners. I’ve never made them, but I think I could, thanks to you, Chef John!
Thank you for this, my husband is Norwegian and this is one of the foods he misses the most. They are impossible to find in the uk. Definitely will be giving them ago.
I have many fond memories of watching my aunt make lease for the holidays. She filled a jumbo round short bread tin ( you know, the blue one) and then fought it to Thanksgiving and Christmas, where she softened them between damp towels in the microwave and slathered with butter and cinnamon sugar. I will never forget snitching those yummy little pinwheels from the cutting board.
I remember my grandmother baked lefser when I was young. Cheers from Oslo, Norway
Minnesotan here. Totally self taught in lefse making. Yours looked better than my first attempt at making lefse.
Butter, sugar and cinnamon are the most common way in Norway
Yes we eat it that way to
This comment needs more upvotes, and Chef needs to see it!
Brunost all the way
I know right, totally treated it like a bagel at least he didn't make it into burrito.
Usually just use butter and sugar but I'll have to try the cinnamon
I grew up with Lefse. My mom usually just made it from leftover mashed potatoes. So many uses. A friend once described it as a potato tortilla. Thank you for sharing.
Actually, with the shape and size of these, I’d say they are more like “Lompe” than “Lefse” but who cares - These look amazing! Best hot dog wrappers, too! I grew up on these in Norway and they can be hard to find in the states. I will definitely give this recipe a try. Thanks for making this video!
You are so timely Chef John!
I bought some lefse today at $2 each. We’re going broke, our family loves lefse... we can do this! Tusen takk!
"Scoop and Mash" is my favorite 80's buddy cop TV show.
In my Bio-pic I want my "Mash" character to be played by William Shatner.
chef John you are a gift to humanity
This is not a real Chef John video, it has been faked. He never got out the cayenne.
To 'Old Norwegians' there are only a few spices, salt and pepper . . . and then Parsly if you're 'Modern' *S* Ohh . . . and then Onion and other root vegetables *S* And a few herbs . . .
Yep, fake news!😁
LOL
Or used the "The Old Tappa Tappa".
You're right! I totally missed that.
Thanks John - You make me smile.
I CANT BELIEVE YOU MADE THIS VIDEO!! I LOVE LEFSE...ALMOST AS MUCH AS I LOVE YELLING IN THE COMMENT SECTION
😂
Funny
THANKS SEAN!
😂😂
Mr. Torgue!! 🤣
Love your recipes! Easy to follow and your humor adds to the enjoyment of the whole experience. Food also tastes good! Thank you!
"Totally tubular", haha! This chef is so hip! LOL
It hurts to be this hip
Gag me with a spoon...
Lol jk
@@WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOO His hip must hurt, he's so hip ... 🤭😉😫
Bodacious!
In Decorah, Iowa, at the farmers market, you'll find fresh home made lefse, and it's very very good. I grew up eating lefse, made by my mother, or one of my many aunts. Have some almost every Christmas.
Try using a little less flour. You're making lefse, not tortillas. Very much surprised to see Chef John make these, much less than having him know what they are. I'm very much impressed. Love your work!
Would love an "And as always... Enjoyyy" tee! Def want to make these potato lefse!
My Husband's faminly makes lefse every year around christmas. It's the only time they all have the day off to make it! It's really a process and they make enough for the whole year! Very tasty with sugar and butter, as is traditional, or with a little cinnamon.
Damn, they look really good. Tastes great with fermented Mountain trout, sour cream and scallion. Or sugar, butter and Brown Cheese.
With sausage gives this lovely recipe the super savory taste and kids loves it. Thumbs up dear Chef
👌🏻
My uncle makes this for thanksgiving every year. He wouldn’t give me his recipe, but now I know!
You can surprise him with yours next time 😉
DO NOT follow this ..... this is NO WHERE NEAR authentic lefse!!!!! It is actually an insult to us of Norwegian heritage! Both my grandmother and mother would be rolling in their graves if they saw this video!
@@LadyDragonsblood What did he do wrong? How do you make them?
@@GilMichelini My mom and grandmother used left over mashed potatoes.... and you just work in enough flour to be able to handle it... and they both always said, the less you handle it the better. You MUST have a lefse roller to roll it.... and a hot, dry griddle.
I have a North Dakota small town church cookbook that all my Norwegian aunts and grandma gave recipes to be printed. There was a whole chapter on Lefsa and every single one of them was different. Some without potatoes! So you can’t really say there’s one way to make it. There seems to of been a number of ways that were different in each household.
I have been making these since I was 10 with my brother. We didn’t really follow any recipe. We just used mashed potatoes and lots of flour and some water. We would fry them up like pancakes and cover them with butter and sugar and eat eat them up before mom got up!! We loved them.
You are very much correct in thinking your blisters look authentic John!
My very favorite way of enjoying lefse is with a good spreadable cream cheese, dried cured ham and arugula salad. It's a savory treat with a peppery bite. You'll usually find it anywhere you'd find lefse with salmon.
Mmm my grandma loved this and we have it every Christmas. Top with a thin layer of butter and cinnamon sugar, roll, and have the time of your life.
Woah! This was a blast from the past! Many years ago I lived in a small rural town nicknamed 'Little Sweden ' because of the dense population of Swedish immigrants. Had a friend who made lefse and had everyone over for a party. Good times and great food. Thanks
Me: Bachelor who cannot boil water.
Also me: Ends up watching 100 chef John videos in a row...
Start by boiling water then proceed from there. Everyone has to start somewhere. If you're going for the non-bachelor life I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be pleased with a homemade meal for a date. If you're looking to stay a bachelor you'll eat better and save some money by not going out. Win win
Give it a try. No one is perfect from the start and then you will find what works for you and then who knows? You might surprise yourself :)
Michael, it's a basic life skill. You need to nourish your body and soul. Start with a simple recipe like this one, with few ingredients and a high probability of success. And butter + sugar, or lox + sour cream and dill... or a tart berry jam... they can upgrade any imperfections! We all take practice! I hope you give it a whirl! :)
I’ll get there one day.
100 Chef John videos? You are now a qualified chef, get that pan of water on the stove!
Mom always served these with pea soup. Always with butter, sugar and cinammon. Got me to love the pea soups!! Whenever she served these at a family gathering, they got eaten first...so delicious ooftah.
We use them for tons od things! Hot dogs, as a sweet treat, with cured meats, fish, soup, dinners, as bread... options are limitless!
You know lompe and lefse are not the same, right?
@@tyrth1588 eh, they are. The potato kind anyway
You for the eastern part of norway maybe?
@@tyrth1588 Nope, but I work with local foods...:)
@@tyrth1588 Was a bit too tired earlier - Lompe has more potato in the recipe, that's essentially the only difference.
Memories from childhood growing up in MN. Mostly we did have them with butter/sugar, but added a little cinnamon sometimes. These were especially abundant during the Christmas holiday.
My dad is Norwegian and he always ate pölse (sausage) with this wrapped around it instead of hotdog buns :)
I do too :) It`s very common in Norway
@@supern00b25 I actually remember my dad saying that while eating sausage haha! We had a cottage in Trysil and he would always eat pölse and lompe after skiing! :)
Discover this channel in 2020 and must say love those videos especially the voice of the chef.
Biggest laugh of the year: "Store bought lefse".
cmonkey63 I have heard it is store bought in Norway, and the biggest selling snack, too.
In Norway you don't make your own lease unless you absolutely must. We buy ours in the store.
Hey, now... every supermarket in Norway has packs of lefse -- or, to be specific: lompe (o like oo) -- because they're what Norwegians wrap hotdogs in (or cream cheese and smoked salmon). Though, Norwegians don't use lefse (lompe) on those ridiculous, processed US frankfurters. We use them on ridiculous, processed Vienna-style smoked links instead.
As for butter (and sugar)... I gue--- NO, USE THEM FOR SAVOURY STUFF.
They're great.
You're missing out.
You should buy some.
I just noticed some at my store yesterday
noisedeaf Thanks! I would buy some, but all we have are tortillas. I usually make my own. It really turns heads when you serve it with Mexican food.😂
Thank you for making this recipe Chef John!!!!! My family gets together on Thanksgiving or Christmas and the whole family makes this together! We have a competition to see who can get the perfect size, shape, and thickness!!! By far one of my favorite things to eat!
I want that spatula... the flex vs. firm there has been eluding me in my last couple purchases.
0_0 I must know...
me too....me too
Guess I'm not the only one who thought it was attractive and functional. Looks like he can really mash with it and it won't fall apart.
My great aunt Inga always made these around the holidays, usually served with butter and cinnamon sugar or freezer jam and cream cheese wow! Brings back great memories.
This is so like Indian aloo parantha gone VILAYATI 😂😂😂
I clicked on the video to look for the aloo parantha comment. Thanks man!😂
I swear I was thinking about aloo parantha while watching this. I'd prefer our parantha over lefse man 😂
I was thinking the same on seeing the video title itself.
Being an indian and have visited norwegia so many times i can assure you that the lefse tastes much different and a bit more softer than what the aaloo ka paratha tastes like ....
Yes I know it’s like aloo parotta, since I’m originally from Sri Lanka but I’m brought up in Norway 🇳🇴
I grew up with lefse made for Christmas mostly
You did a great job.
We did not poke before cooking and liked the resulting big bubbles
Actually, we liked the brown spots cooked darker... to almost burned
This adds a special flavor IMO
the other thing.... these are delicious with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar when you roll them up
My moms friends competed to see who could roll the thinnest lefse
The challenge is that the thinner rolling starts sticking to the towel
As well as starting to use more flour and therefore dryer and tougher
But THERE was the art
There are no innocent bystanders in my kitchen.
in mine.....There's only participants or victims...
LOL!
That's a seinfeld joke
😠 🔪 me when I’m cooking & a bystander starts picking before I serve lol
I keep my knives at "shave hair off your arms" sharp.. we've had a few casualties 😆
Ahh!! Love the use of the towel for the rolling! Genius I will use that thank you very much
I can literally smell and taste it just by looking at it. I miss my grandma :(
I'm currently binge watching your videos. You are awesome!
I'm Norwegian and I have never even thought about the process of making these, so this was cool
Also, adding cinnamon as well as sugar and butter is really good!
Theyre also really good with hot dogs haha
My mormor always filled them with cinnamon, sugar and butter. I didn't know they could be eaten any other way!
Hi Chef John,
I really enjoy your videos and especially when it's from my home country!
Good lefse is an art form! Take it from a Minnesotan.
Take it from an actual Norwegian citizen, people in Minnesota have some bizarre views about Norway.
@@ingriddubbel8468 i dont believe he mentioned norway
@@ingriddubbel8468 so left field.....not even the point.
In Czech R. we got something similar to this just thicker about 2/3 of inch and we put in pork cracklings,we use left over potatos or mash or any cooked potatos,it was very traditional food,last time I had it like 30 ya,thanks for bringing nostalgia back.
There is also a cloth sleeve that is used on the rolling pin.
YES! Omg my grandma had that too! I always thought it looked like she cut off the top of a long sock, lol. Really helped keep things from sticking, but I have no idea where you get one now?
Our family's nickname for lefse is "shingle bread." Four generations of us at a time would gather in my grandma's kitchen to make lefse together. Best days ever! It's still my all-time most favourite flatbread.
I'm afraid to try this recipe because I know I would eat them all immediately
@Maroxa’s Way it wouldn't be the first Chef John recipe I've made, recorded, and devoured in a night
That is a real danger, ngl
My dad has been talking about lefse for weeks! What great timing! Already sent hin the link, thank you Chef!