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Nalysnyky with cheese and dill filling
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5 from 1 vote

Nalysnyky - Ukrainian crepes with cheese and dill filling

Rich and cheesy, these Ukrainian crepes are great as a side dish or as a vegetarian main course.
Prep Time15 minutes
Active Time30 minutes
Resting time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Ukrainian-Canadian
Yield: 12 crepes

Equipment

  • 10 inch non-stick frying pan
  • Casserole with lid
  • Blender or hand blender or whisk
  • Wire racks

Materials

Crepe batter

  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour sifted
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Cheese filling

  • 2 cups dry curd cottage cheese
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 Tablespoons sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup fresh dill chopped

Cream topping

  • ½ cup sour cream or ½ cup 10% cream
  • ½ cup 10% cream or milk
  • ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter for greasing the casserole
  • ½ Tablespoon unsalted butter for dotting between layers

Instructions

Crepe batter

  • Using a whisk, a handheld blender or a blender, whisk 2 eggs with ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup milk and 3 Tablespoons water.
    Beat eggs with a whisk
  • Sift ½ cup of flour and whisk into the batter mixture
    Add flour and salt with a whisk
  • Let the batter rest for 30 minutes or up to overnight. This helps the flour absorb the liquid.
    Bubbly batter in a bowl

Cheese filling

  • Mix together 2 cups dry curd cottage cheese, 2 egg yolks, 2 Tablespoons sour cream, and ½ teaspoon salt using a blender or just stirring vigorously
    Dry curd cottage cheese with 2 egg yolks and sour cream
  • If using a blender, combine ¼ cup chopped dill with the cheese separately so the filling doesn't turn green
    Cheese filling with dill

Crepes

  • Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, fill it half-way with batter
    2 tablespoons of batter in a measuring cup
  • Lightly oil a 10-inch non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Test the pan is hot enough - droplets of water should sizzle. Swirl the batter to form a thin crepe.
    Batter in a frying pan
  • When bubbles appear in the middle, flip the crepe and cook about 10 seconds on the other side
    Crepe in a frying pan with bubbles appearing
  • Use a wire rack to cool the crepes. When they're cool, they can be stacked until ready to fill
    Crepes cooling on a wire rack

Fill crepes and layer in a casserole

  • Preheat your oven to 325°F
  • With the "right" (or evenly browned) side down, place 3 Tablespoons of filling in the centre of the crepe
    Crepe with filling centred in the middle
  • Fold the bottom third of the crepe onto the filling
    Crepe with one-third folded over the filling
  • Roll the crepe over so the seam side is down. Squeeze the crepe gently to push the cheese to the edges and remove any air
    Crepe rolled over
  • Butter a square casserole dish (that has a lid) and arrange four crepes in the dish
    Four filled crepes arranged in a buttered casserole
  • Combine ½ cup sour cream with ½ milk and pour a third of it over the bottom crepe layer. Dot with pieces of butter.
    First layer covered in cream and butter
  • Continue with the next layer of 4 filled crepes - but arrange them perpendicular to the first layer. Top with a third of the cream/milk mixture and dot with butter. Repeat with the third layer
    Second layer of crepes covered in cream and butter
  • Bake in a 325°F oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve immediately. Smachnoho!
    Baked crepes

Notes

This recipe freezes well.  Just make the recipe up to the point of pouring on the cream.  Thaw completely before pouring on the cream sauce. Then, bake in the oven.
This recipe also doubles and triples well! Make some for today and some for the future.
Reheat leftover nalysnyky (if you have any) by warming and browning them in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.