Lotsa Lefse for North State Norwegians

Meet Iver Thon of Redding. For a few years now he’s invited me to the Sons of Norway Lodge 6-108 for the group’s all-day lefse-making production at the IOOF Hall in Palo Cedro.

This was the first year I was able to attend.

Now’s a good time to pause for a quick explanation of lefse, starting with its pronunciation: lef-suh.

Lefse’s a crucial part of Norwegians’ culinary heritage, much as tortillas are to Mexicans, and as crepes are to the French. In fact, lefse resembles a super-sized flour tortilla, but its taste and texture are nothing like tortillas or crepes.

Norwegians, forgive me for my unsophisticated lefse palate, but to me lefse tastes somewhat bland. Maybe that’s why one way in which lefse is like tortillas and crepes is they all taste best when filled with something. Even the most lefse-adoring Norwegians will admit that their beloved delicacy is most delicious when served warm, slathered with butter and/or sugar. Many lefse-lovers also recommend lefse filled with jelly, jam, cinnamon, cranberries and yes, turkey leftovers.

As Sharon Thon, Iver’s wife, and a founding lefse-party member, said, “Norwegians put everything but the kitchen sink in their lefse!”

While the basic techniques for making lefse aren’t that complicated, some special tools are required, such as a special grooved rolling pin,

an electric lefse griddle, and even special lefse-turning sticks.

All these supplies can be purchased online at such places as LefseStore.com or fjornscandinavian.com.

Making lefse can be a time-consuming endeavour, which starts with peeling, boiling and ricing (or mashing) the potatoes, the bedrock of all lefse doughs.

Some years back local Sons of Norway members joined lefse-making forces for a many-hands-make-light-work assembly-line-style lefse-making party.

This year was no different. About 40 people pitched in, from kids to senior citizens.

One group prepared the potatoes.

Another made the dough.

Another rolled the dough into balls.

Another used their special lefse rolling pins – with lines grooved into the wood – to roll the balls into flat discs.

Another cooked the lefse on griddles, then carefully flipped and carried the cooked lefse on hand-made lefse sticks (made by Central Valley High School students).

Finally, the cooked lefse was left to cool on clean sheets so the next group could package the lefse for its members to freeze and/or sell (at $9 a dozen) for the holidays. But every lefse must first pass inspection.

No burned lefse. No oblong lefse. No overly thick lefse allowed. In the end, 70 dozen lefse were made, born in part by 160 pounds of potatoes

I bought two packages of lefse. One was a gift for a young Norwegian couple, living here in the North State while they attend school. And the second lefse batch is in the freezer. I have some turkey leftovers from Christmas dinner. Maybe that’s how I’ll use it.

Leftovers and lefse.

Lefse

Place potatoes in heavily salted water that’s at a rolling boil.

Cook the potatoes until they’re fork tender. Drain potatoes. Put them back in hot pot and let it sit on the warm burner (to help evaporate the water).

Mash or rice the potatoes. Add the butter and mash by hand. Let the potato mixer cool with the lid off (to avoid condensation and excess moisture in the dough). Let the mixture cool a bit before adding the flour, mixing well (but not too long, because sticky dough won’t work well).

Knead as you would bread dough.

Use your hands to form the dough into balls. (About 1/3 cup of lefse dough will make about a 12-inch round.) Let the dough balls rest while you preheat the griddle to between 450 to 500 degrees.

On a floured surface, use a heavily-floured lefse rolling pin to roll the dough into thin discs.

Use a thin lefse stick or spatula to transfer the disc to the heated lefse griddle.

Brown on both sides. Carefully remove the lefse from the griddle with the stick and set it on clean towels until the lefse has cooled.

Freeze in plastic bags.

Serve warm with: butter, sugar, cinnamon or jam, jelly, cranberries or turkey.

Makes about 2 dozen lefse.