Nalesniki: Filling and Folding
Lenten Foods: Polish Crêpes or Polish Pancakes
Nalesniki (Polish Crêpes), Lenten favorites, are thin pancakes rolled or folded around sweet or savory fillings. Lightly browned or baked, they make mouth-watering meals.
Even though Nalesniki are well suited for meatless Lenten meals, they make delightful snacks or light meals year-round. Recipes for savory and sweet fillings are as numerous as seasonal specialties. The four unique ways of folding or rolling these thin pancakes around fillings, and then browning or baking them, create mouth-watering Polish dishes.
Some cooks use their Pierogi filling recipes for Nalesniki as well. Others prefer lighter ingredients. Nuns of the Immaculate Conception near the village of Szymanow operate a private boarding and secondary school for girls. They also cater light meals for scheduled visiting groups. Their wonderful meals include Nalesniki folded around homemade diced and spiced apple filling, and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.
The Café Chata in Czestochowa (near Kraków) specializes in light meals and lists an almost endless variety of fillings. Diners, depending upon the season and time of day, can request Nalesniki filled with
- Simple sweetened white cheese or chocolate spread (like Nutella) – least expensive;
- White cheese with peaches and pineapple – moderately expensive; or
- Cheese, sauerkraut with celery, pork, chicken and tomatoes – most expensive.
Recipes for Fillings
Savory White Cheese Filling
- 1 lb. (about two cups) dry cottage cheese (Farmer's cheese) or ricotta cheese
- 1 egg yolk (optional)
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- ½ cup chives or finely minced new onions
- salt – to taste
- white pepper – to taste.
Sweet White Cheese Filling
- Amounts as for Savory White Cheese Filling except omit chives, salt and pepper and substitute:
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon melted butter or margarine and
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- one extra egg yolk for added richness.
Break-up cheese in a hand grinder, large-pore sieve, or food processor. Do not puree! In a medium bowl combine sieved cheese, eggs with chives, salt and white pepper; or sugar, melted butter or margarine and vanilla.
***A small amount of cleaned and fresh fruit like berries, tropical fruit, or apples can be added to the cheese mixture and sugar adjusted to taste. One variation is to make a small amount of sauce from the fruit and spoon it over the browned or baked cheese-filled Nalesniki.
Filling and Folding Nalesniki
***Place Nalesniki seam down in frying or baking pan as you fill and fold them.
Here are the four traditional ways of filling and folding Nalesniki:
- Long Roll: Evenly spread about 1 tablespoon of filling over one-half of pancake leaving bare about one–half inch from the edge; roll from the filled side until you have a long tube.
- Short Roll: Evenly spread about 1 tablespoon of filling, leaving the outer one inch bare, over the entire pancake. Fold over two unspread edges from opposite sides of the pancake; roll one of the remaining two unspread edges toward the center; then roll up tightly from the unfolded end until you have a small fat tube.
- Handkerchief Fold: Evenly spread about 1 tablespoon of filling over one-half of pancake, leaving bare about one-half inch from the edge; fold empty half over filled half; then fold once again bringing the two points together. Not particularly well suited for jams or runny fillings.
- Envelope or Book Fold (Ksiazeczka): Evenly spread about 1 tablespoon of filling over the center of pancake leaving bare about one–half inch from the edge; fold about one-third of pancake over filling; then fold over the opposite one-third; fold ends in, forming a small packet.
Cooking Nalesniki
Method 1 – Melt a small amount of unsalted butter or margarine in a frying pan. Sauté Nalesniki, seam-side down, over medium heat about 3 minutes on each side. Place on a warm plate or serving platter. Garnish with fresh diced and sweetened fruit, or a warm cooked fruit sauce. Serve with sour cream.
Method 2 – Preheat oven 350° to 375°. Place Nalesniki, seam side down, in well buttered baking dish, in layers if necessary; drench with melted unsalted butter or dot with cold unsalted butter. Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through with top layer attractively browned. Serve with sweetened diced berries or fruit or warm fruit sauce; sour cream on the side.
Tips:
The following books contain a good selection of variations for the basic pancake/crêpe recipes as well as recipes for multi-ingredient fillings:
- Polish Heritage Cookery expanded 2005 by Robert and Maria Strybel and
- Polish Cooking revised 2005 by Marianna Olszewska Heberle.
The first article in this series Nalesniki – Polish Crêpes: Preparation and Cooking explains a little of the background of this Lenten treat as well as how to prepare the Nalesniki / pancake batter and cook it.
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage March 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
