What Are Nalysnyky? Ukrainian Crêpes Recipe

Nalysnyky in short

• Nalysnyky are thin crêpes rolled or folded around a filling; plain thin pancakes are mlyntsi.
• The classic sweet fillings are farmer's cheese with sugar and raisins, and poppy seed with sour cherries.
• They are browned in butter or baked in sour cream, which keeps them soft and holds a tray together.
• Blintzes, from the Ashkenazi Jewish kitchen, are close relatives: the crêpe is cooked on one side, folded into a parcel and fried.
• The origin of the word is uncertain; one explanation links it to baking "on a leaf".
• Filled nalysnyky keep a day in the fridge and freeze for up to 2 months.

What does the word nalysnyky mean?

Ukrainian has two words for thin pancakes. Mlyntsi is the general word, from the same old Slavic root as the Russian blin, a root linked to grinding grain. Nalysnyky are mlyntsi with a filling, rolled or folded; in some regions and families the word is used for thin crêpes in general.

Where nalysnyk itself comes from is uncertain. The Polish word naleśnik and the Ukrainian nalysnyk are clearly related, and dictionaries mark the origin as unclear. The explanation given by the Ukrainian Wikipedia and by many Ukrainian cooks is "na lysti", on a leaf: thin cakes were once baked on large cabbage leaves or on a flat sheet in the stove. It is a plausible story, and linguists have not settled it.

How are nalysnyky different from blintzes and crêpes?

All three are thin pancakes made from a runny batter of eggs, milk and flour, and all three can hold a sweet cheese filling. What separates them is language, tradition and a few steps in the kitchen.

A crêpe is the French member of the family, most closely tied to Brittany. The word comes from the Latin crispus, curled or wrinkled. Crêpes are often served simply folded, with sugar, butter or jam, and the savoury buckwheat version is called a galette. In France they are eaten on Candlemas, 2 February.

A blintz comes from the Ashkenazi Jewish kitchen of Eastern Europe. English took the word from Yiddish blintse around 1903, and the Yiddish word comes from the Slavic diminutive for a pancake. Traditional cooks such as Joan Nathan cook the blintz wrapper on one side only, spoon the cheese onto the cooked side, fold it into a closed parcel and fry it in butter until golden. Cheese blintzes are a traditional dairy dish of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

Nalysnyky are the Ukrainian version. The crêpe is usually cooked on both sides, the filling is rolled into a tube or folded into an envelope, and the finish varies: a quick browning in butter, or a slow bake in a dish covered with sour cream, which gives soft, custardy rolls that are cut and served with a spoon of the sauce.

When do Ukrainians eat nalysnyky?

Nalysnyky are everyday food, so there is no single occasion. They are a weekend breakfast, a dessert after a bowl of soup, and a dish that makes a small amount of cheese feed a family.

They also belong to the last week before Lent, known in Ukraine as Masnytsia, Syropust or Kolodii. It is the week when dairy is eaten before the fast, and Ukrainian ethnographers describe cheese varenyky as its oldest traditional dish. Thin pancakes and nalysnyky with cheese have become an equally common part of that week's table.

Nalysnyky in Canada

Ukrainian settlers brought nalysnyky to the Prairies from the 1890s onward, and the dish took on a local accent. The version many Ukrainian Canadians grew up with is savoury: crêpes rolled around dry cottage cheese with egg and fresh dill, laid in a pan and baked in cream until bubbling. It turns up at family breakfasts, parish suppers and in church and community cookbooks from Manitoba to Alberta.

Sweet nalysnyky with farmer's cheese, poppy seed or cherries are just as common in Ukrainian homes in Ottawa and Toronto today, especially among families who came more recently.

What kinds of nalysnyky are there?

Sweet cheese nalysnyky

The classic: dry farmer's cheese pressed smooth with an egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and a handful of raisins, sometimes with lemon zest. Rolled into tubes and browned in butter, or baked in sour cream. Served warm with sour cream or honey.

Poppy seed and cherry nalysnyky

Poppy seeds are scalded, drained and ground with sugar or honey into a dark, nutty paste, then rolled into the crêpe with sour cherries. The sharp cherries and the slightly bitter poppy seed are a pairing Ukrainians also use in cakes and varenyky.

Baked in sour cream

Filled rolls are packed into a buttered baking dish, covered with sour cream beaten with an egg and a little sugar, and baked until set and golden in spots. It softens the crêpes, keeps the filling moist and turns a batch into a dish you can carry to the table.

Three fillings in one ("vyshyvanka")

A festive version with all three fillings in one roll: cheese and cherries are rolled from opposite edges of one crêpe to meet in the middle, and that roll is wrapped in a second crêpe spread with poppy seed. Sliced on the diagonal, the white, red and black look like the embroidery on a Ukrainian vyshyvanka shirt, which gave the dish its name. Some cooks make it with four crêpes, one per filling and one to wrap.

Cottage cheese and dill in cream

The Ukrainian-Canadian favourite: savoury rolls of dry cottage cheese, egg and dill baked in whipping cream, sometimes with fried onion. Served warm as a main course or a side dish.

Savoury nalysnyky

Mushrooms with onion, chicken or beef, liver, potato, or cabbage. Savoury rolls are often finished like croquettes, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried, a style shared with Polish kitchens.

Apple nalysnyky

Grated or diced apples cooked with sugar and cinnamon until soft, rolled into the crêpes and dusted with icing sugar. A good autumn version when Ontario apples are in season.

How do you serve and store nalysnyky?

• Serve nalysnyky warm, two or three per person as a dessert or breakfast, with a spoon of cold sour cream. Honey, jam or a little melted butter work too.
• Baked nalysnyky rest 5 minutes out of the oven so the sour cream sets; lift them out with a spatula and spoon the sauce over.
• Keep cooked nalysnyky covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
• Reheat in a covered pan with a little butter over low heat, or in a 180°C (350°F) oven for 10 to 15 minutes under foil. The microwave works for one or two and makes the crêpes softer.
• Freeze filled, unbaked rolls in a single layer, then pack them in a bag for up to 2 months.
• Unfilled crêpes keep 2 days in the fridge and 1 month in the freezer, stacked with baking paper between them.
• Black tea, a glass of cold milk or a compote of dried fruit are the traditional drinks alongside.