Fresh New Fit: Making Lefse

By: LL
Dedicated to my husband and my two Norwegian BILS - Scoot and Dusters!

A few weekends ago, my husband and I were back in his hometown to celebrate the holidays early. My husband, and this area of Wisconsin, is very Norwegian. So what better way to get a little upper body exercise than by making lefse from over 100 lbs of potatoes.

What is lefse, you may ask. Lefse is like a potato pancake, but the Norwegian version. The cooking process is long and includes making potato dough, rolling the dough super (SUPER) thin, then frying them and letting them cool. They are usually consumed with butter and sugar or lingonberries.

{Traditional Norwegian lefse cooking}

{What lefse should look like}

The recipe for making lefse starts with boiling potatoes, peeling them, then ricing them. Then, flour, milk and a little sugar is added to make dough, which is rolled into little balls.

But seriously, the whole rolling out process was the hardest and is a great way to get an upper body workout. As I learned from the "experts" who had been making lefse for this fundraising activity for over 15 years, it is all about rolling and rolling and rolling. You have to push down fairly hard to get it to that paper thin consistency that sells!

{The experts at work - more gossiping than rolling with this group}

After they are rolled out (making sure not to get the dough stuck on the board or get any holes in it as it is lifted up), it is time to fry them. This was the part I enjoyed most. 

The lefse needs to be cooled in dish towels and under a large fan. Then, we packaged them up to be sold at the fundraiser. 

{Our version of lefse}

Quite the experience...something fun for the holidays and a little way to get a little exercise (hey, every little bit helps at the holidays). I recommend trying some lefse (which is easier to come across in the Midwest than other areas). Take it from this German girl...it is pretty good!