Grenouille
16 Jul 2008
Food / Nalesniki [23]
This is my Mamcik's (my grandmother's) recipe for nalesniki - we wrote down all the details for a family cookbook so the kids and grandkids would know how to make it, so the instructions are pretty fussy. However, it makes magnificent nalesniki! Good luck -
2 to 3 recipes blini batter
3 to 4 lbs roasted beef (usually rump roast)
About 1 c mushrooms – if dried, soaked in water; if fresh, sautéed and juices reserved; if canned, undrained
Cooked carrot (optional)
¼ to ½ c drippings or cooking water from beef
Maggi
Deglaze pan in which beef is cooked and reserve ½ cup drippings. Remove all fat and gristle from meat. Grind with mushrooms and enough pan drippings to moisten mix (and carrot, if desired) in food grinder or food processor. If using processor, process to coarse-to-fine grind – don’t overprocess into paste. Meat mixture should be crumbly and moist. Season with Maggi –add more drippings or cooking water if mixture seems dry.
Blini:
1 c water
3 eggs
½ c flour
Dash salt
Parchment paper
Oil or butter
Make blini batter, one recipe at a time. Have two nonstick crepe pans oiled and ready, and plenty of counter space to cool blini; cover counter with parchment paper. When pans are hot, pour about ½ cup batter into first pan. When bubbles begin to appear, put ½ cup batter into second pan. When blini appear lightly browned on bottom, and firm on top, turn pan upside down over parchment paper and tap to release blini. Re-oil pan and repeat – by the time the first blini is back on the stove, the second blini should be ready to come out of the pan. Have two stacks of blini going – one from one pan, one from the second. That gives each blini a little time to cool.
When you run out of batter, stop and make more. Don’t make a double or triple recipe because the batter can discolor or lose its fluff while it’s sitting. Also, the first two or three blinis generally turn out poorly. When the batter settles, and the pans get a better coating of oil and have heated thoroughly, they’ll be better.
When blini are done, assemble nalesniki. Peel one blini off its stack, and place on counter browned side down. Place 1-2 heaping teaspoons meat into the center of the blini; fold bottom half of circle over meat. Fold right and left sides over meat, and roll up. When all nalesniki are assembled, they can be cooked immediately or stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. We’ve never been patient enough to try freezing them, but that would probably work as long as you thawed them completely first, and were willing to settle for a less fluffy texture in the blini.
Before cooking nalesniki, you can make Mamcik’s quick sauce of 2 cans of prepared beef gravy, one can of cream of mushroom soup, reserved ½ cup drippings, Maggi seasoning to taste, and milk if needed to thin. Otherwise, you can try any sort of beef or mushroom sauce to serve over them. In any case, have sauce almost ready before beginning the sautéing.
To cook nalesniki, melt butter in large nonstick pan. Place nalesniki in pan and sauté until blini begins to turn medium brown; turn over and continue until second side is cooked. Serve immediately – if family is willing to wait until all the nalesniki are cooked, keep nalesniki warm until they’re all done and everyone can eat together. (Of course, this doesn’t apply to the nalesniki that break in the pan and must be sampled for quality by the cook.)
This is my Mamcik's (my grandmother's) recipe for nalesniki - we wrote down all the details for a family cookbook so the kids and grandkids would know how to make it, so the instructions are pretty fussy. However, it makes magnificent nalesniki! Good luck -
2 to 3 recipes blini batter
3 to 4 lbs roasted beef (usually rump roast)
About 1 c mushrooms – if dried, soaked in water; if fresh, sautéed and juices reserved; if canned, undrained
Cooked carrot (optional)
¼ to ½ c drippings or cooking water from beef
Maggi
Deglaze pan in which beef is cooked and reserve ½ cup drippings. Remove all fat and gristle from meat. Grind with mushrooms and enough pan drippings to moisten mix (and carrot, if desired) in food grinder or food processor. If using processor, process to coarse-to-fine grind – don’t overprocess into paste. Meat mixture should be crumbly and moist. Season with Maggi –add more drippings or cooking water if mixture seems dry.
Blini:
1 c water
3 eggs
½ c flour
Dash salt
Parchment paper
Oil or butter
Make blini batter, one recipe at a time. Have two nonstick crepe pans oiled and ready, and plenty of counter space to cool blini; cover counter with parchment paper. When pans are hot, pour about ½ cup batter into first pan. When bubbles begin to appear, put ½ cup batter into second pan. When blini appear lightly browned on bottom, and firm on top, turn pan upside down over parchment paper and tap to release blini. Re-oil pan and repeat – by the time the first blini is back on the stove, the second blini should be ready to come out of the pan. Have two stacks of blini going – one from one pan, one from the second. That gives each blini a little time to cool.
When you run out of batter, stop and make more. Don’t make a double or triple recipe because the batter can discolor or lose its fluff while it’s sitting. Also, the first two or three blinis generally turn out poorly. When the batter settles, and the pans get a better coating of oil and have heated thoroughly, they’ll be better.
When blini are done, assemble nalesniki. Peel one blini off its stack, and place on counter browned side down. Place 1-2 heaping teaspoons meat into the center of the blini; fold bottom half of circle over meat. Fold right and left sides over meat, and roll up. When all nalesniki are assembled, they can be cooked immediately or stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. We’ve never been patient enough to try freezing them, but that would probably work as long as you thawed them completely first, and were willing to settle for a less fluffy texture in the blini.
Before cooking nalesniki, you can make Mamcik’s quick sauce of 2 cans of prepared beef gravy, one can of cream of mushroom soup, reserved ½ cup drippings, Maggi seasoning to taste, and milk if needed to thin. Otherwise, you can try any sort of beef or mushroom sauce to serve over them. In any case, have sauce almost ready before beginning the sautéing.
To cook nalesniki, melt butter in large nonstick pan. Place nalesniki in pan and sauté until blini begins to turn medium brown; turn over and continue until second side is cooked. Serve immediately – if family is willing to wait until all the nalesniki are cooked, keep nalesniki warm until they’re all done and everyone can eat together. (Of course, this doesn’t apply to the nalesniki that break in the pan and must be sampled for quality by the cook.)