I was thinking recently about making crèpes when I stumbled on this Spinach Nalysnyky (Crêpes) recipe from a Ukrainian food blogger at panistefa.com. The Ukrainian language recipe, written with a chatty narrative, and its accompanying photos inspired me to try it.
So I translated the text and made a batch. The nalysnyky turned out great – delicate, tasty and colorful. Ready to be filled with whatever I chose. The filling options were familiar because I grew up eating nalysnyky.
My mother often made sweet and savory nalysnyky, but they were never green. Savory nalysnyky were filled with chopped cooked chicken or minced roast beef or mushrooms or vegetables or savory cheese. Sweet nalysnyky were filled with sweetened cottage cheese and raisins or assorted jams or pan-fried apples or berries, essentially what was on hand. Mama’s nalysnyky were a special, delicious treat for us, and always a meal we looked forward to. Nalysnyky for me, like pancakes or blintzes, were plain, every day home cooking, while crêpes, made from almost identical recipes, were something special. Just the sound of the French word indicated a sophisticated indulgence, found in novels or movies.
But I also recall Mama serving nalysnyky periodically, usually toward the end of a week. I probably thought she made them when she had time and inclination to do so, and never considered that there may have been another reason for Mama’s making nalysnyky.
That epiphany about another reason came many years later, when I was working in Kyiv and my friend Marta stopped by at the end of one of her business trips throughout Ukraine. Those were the days before fast trains and few intercity flights, so she arrived exhausted from traveling long distances by car over pot-holed roads.
“The trip was productive. I accomplished what I set out to do.” Marta said. “But,” she continued, “the food was terrible.”
I was surprised to hear this as my Ukrainian-American friend was quite fond of Ukrainian cooking and home cooking was definitely better than hotel food.
“Every family I stayed with served meat-filled nalysnyky! I guess the economy is tanking,” Marta concluded “for everyone is using nalysnyky to stretch the meat!” And she was right. Economic hard times had indeed enveloped Ukraine and the need to tighten the belt was felt by all families.
So Marta’s “nalysnyky economic indicator” turned out to be a good barometer of the state of Ukraine’s economy and caused me to rethink my childhood nalysnyky experience and Mama’s role as our home economist. Although I never discussed it with Mama, I now presume that her incorporation of nalysnky into our family’s meals was Mama’s way of making the food dollar go farther between paychecks to feed a family of five.
But filling nalyskyny or crêpes need not be limited to using leftovers. The original recipe from panistefa.com suggested preparing these spinach nalysnyky with a meltable cheese filling for an indulgent breakfast. I tried several with a sharp cheddar and they were delicious. But I wanted to prepare a main course and decided to use a made-to-order filling, veal stroganoff, an adaptation from my family’s cookbook. Stroganoff is customarily served over egg noodles or various forms of potato. Of course, nalysnyky can also be filled with any filling of your choice. But nalysnyky, made of the same ingredients as egg noodles, combined with veal stroganoff turned out to be a winning substitution.
The nalysnyky and veal stroganoff can be prepared a day or more ahead, assembled a few hours and baked before serving.
* I debated whether to call this post by its Ukrainian name “Spinach Nalysnyky” or by the more readily recognized “Spinach Crêpes.” Sure, William Shakespeare wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” and following his logic, the name should not matter. But I was torn about what to call it, wanting to maintain its Ukrainian character, while making it recognizable to non-Ukrainian cooks.
Spinach Nalysnyky (Crêpes), adapted from panistefa.com
14 ounces (400 g) frozen spinach, thawed
1 cup boiling water
14 ounces (400ml) whole milk
4 eggs
⅓ cup (78 ml) olive oil
1½ cup + 1 (369 g) tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Place thawed spinach and hot water in blender and process until smooth. Add milk and eggs to spinach mixture and whiz again to amalgamate. Then, with blender running, add flour a few spoons at a time until batter is as thick as heavy cream. Then add salt and Herbes de Provence. (At this point, batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a few hours before proceeding with recipe. Bring batter to room temperature, if refrigerated. Batter may have thickened, so add a tablespoon of milk, thinning to heavy cream consistency.) Stir in oil.
To season pan, add a tablespoon of oil and then wipe it off.
Heat a seasoned or preferably non-stick, crêpe pan (7”to 8” in diameter). Ladle ¼ cup of batter onto the center of the frying pan and quickly swirl so batter forms a quick, thin pancake covering the base of the pan. (If batter does not spread quickly, then batter is too thick and needs to be thinned with a few tablespoons milk.) Cook nalysnyk (singular of nalysnyky) until top appears dry and edges start to lift from pan, about 1 minute. Flip to other side. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to a dishtowel covered cutting board. Lay nalysnyky out flat to cool. Continue until all nalysnyky are cooked. (Once cooled, nalysnyky can be stacked and stored in sealable plastic bags in refrigerator for several days or in freezer or up to two months. When using frozen nalysnyky, thaw completely before separating and filling.)
Makes 24 nalysnyky, 7 inches in diameter. Recipe can be halved.
Veal Stroganoff**
2½ pounds ( 1K 114 g) veal sirloin or tenderloin, cut into 1½ x ½ x ¼ inch strips
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter
⅓ cup (35 g) finely chopped shallots
1½ pounds (600 g) small cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup (235 ml) beef broth
2 tablespoons cognac
¾ cup (454 g) crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Pat meat dry with paper towels. Toss with flour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat until very hot. Working in batches, add meat in single layer and cook just until brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped shallots and sauté until tender, scraping up browned bits, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with pepper and sauté until liquid evaporates, about 12 minutes. Remove ¾ cup of the mushrooms to a small dish and set aside for garnish.
Add beef broth to remaining mushrooms, then cognac. Simmer until liquid thickens and just coats mushrooms, about 14 minutes. Stir in crème fraîche and Dijon mustard. Add meat and accumulated juices from baking sheet. Simmer over medium-low heat until meat is heated through but still medium-rare, about 2 minutes. Stir in chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Filling the Spinach Nalysnyky ((Crèpes)
Place 2 tablespoons of veal stroganoff on a nalysnyk. Fold both sides over the filling. Then tightly roll the nalysnyk away from you. Serve immediately or place in buttered heat-proof baking dish seam side down. Continue filling remaining nalysnyky. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 325°F (163°C) to reheat. Remove from oven. Garnish. Serve with carrots or other vegetables.
Serving options: As filling to nalysnyky/crêpes, garnish with mushrooms and dill. Or classically: over egg noodles, sprinkled generously with paprika and additional dill.
Makes 8 servings, 2-3 nalysnyk each with some left over for seconds.
** Veal can be cut in thicker strips for serving over noodles. Beef can be substituted for the veal in this recipe.
One year ago this month: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/corn-peppers-goat-cheese-clafoutis/
Two years ago this month: http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/roasted-corn-and-jalapeno-cornbread-with-mixed-pepper-jam/