The Grandmother from Kyiv Running a Crepe Factory from Her Home
Shared by Jane Katz
Recipe Roots: Kyiv, Ukraine > New York City
In 1989, three years before Jane Katz was born, her maternal great grandmother, grandparents and their children set out from Kyiv, Ukraine in what was then the USSR for New York City. On their way, like many Soviet Jews coming to the United States, they spent a few months in Italy as arrangements and papers were organized. At the same time, Jane’s father was emigrating from Cherkassy, a city three hours from Kyiv, and also stopped in Italy.
Left to right: Jane’s grandmother Rose, grandfather Leon, mother Melanie and aunts Irina and Anna in Ukraine in 1987.
It was here that Jane’s parents met and fell in love. Their papers came through at different times, but they reconnected when they were both in the U.S. and married quickly at a Russian restaurant in Brooklyn.
Over several years, the family members all moved to Manhattan Beach, not far from Coney Island. “Now, it’s like a little shtetl,” Jane says laughing. Here, in a Russian enclave, the family continues to speak Russian, but feels strongly about assimilating into American society, in part, as a way of rejecting the discrimination they felt as Jews in Kyiv, Jane explains. Still, her maternal grandmother Rose, continues to cook the foods she was raised on in Eastern Europe. There’s beef stew with caramelized onions, borscht, latkes, vegetable soup with chicken meatballs, aspic with eggs, and other Ukrainian and Russian classics. “In a small way, I believe that she held onto her kitchen and her recipes (and continues to cook only in this way) because it was one small thing that she could control as an immigrant,” Jane explains.
“She couldn't find herself here in those early days,” she adds. “But... she could make a mean nalesniki and bring together her family (time and time again) around her table.” Nalesniki, or thin pancakes that are rolled around fillings like chicken with caramelized onions, cherries, or cheese, are Rose’s signature. They grace the family table at holidays, but they are also a favorite snack year round. When family members visit, Rose sends them home with Tupperware containers full of them. She also asks her husband to deliver nalesniki to family members in the neighborhood. “I’m pretty sure she’s low-key running a factory,” Jane jokes. “It’s clearly something made with a lot of love, and time, and attention.”
Left to right: Jane’s mother Melanie, Jane and her daughter Reva on vacation in Tuscany in 2019.
The recipe Rose makes is from her late mother Riva and no one else in the family makes it. When Jane originally asked her grandmother for the recipe, Rose told her: “All you have to do is make sure the crepe batter is really thin because if it’s too thick you’re going to end up with the soles of a shoe.’ I was like great, ‘Could you be a little more specific?’” During the Coronavirus lockdown, Jane learned her grandmother’s recipe over Facetime. Her grandfather set up an iPad on the kitchen counter, so Jane could see Rose’s hands moving.
Jane, who is a food blogger is usually in the kitchen making up her own recipes. “To be honest, I have never learned a family recipe before...It felt very memorable and special because realistically it might be the only time in my life I ever do something like that,” Jane explains, adding that after COVID, “my cousins and I will be making it together and I will teach the recipe to my daughter too when she is old enough.”
Rose's Nalesniki
The two cheese and chicken fillings make enough for one full batch of nalesniki, so if you are making a single batch of nalesniki, choose either the chicken or cheese filling. If you are making both fillings, double the quantity of nalesniki you are making, or halve the fillings.
Makes: 10 to 12 nalesniki
Total Time: 1 hour active + 2 hours inactive
Ingredients
For the chicken filling:
4 chicken quarters, bone in and skin on
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
2 onions, peeled leave one onion whole and finely chop the other onion
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
For the cheese filling:
1 pound farmers cheese or ricotta cheese, drained
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup red raisins
For the nalesniki:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, almond milk, or water
¼ cup water (if using whole milk or almond milk)
1 egg
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed or vegetable oil
Preparation
For the chicken filling:
1. Place the chicken quarters, the carrot, celery and 1 whole onion into a medium pot. Cover with cold water and season the water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Place the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook on a simmer for about 2 hours until the both is golden and the chicken is fork tender and cooked.
2. Meanwhile, place a small pan over medium low heat. Place 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Add the finely chopped onion into the pan and ½ teaspoon of salt. Saute the onions for about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
3. Remove the chicken from the soup. Strain the broth and the vegetables (use for another dish).
4. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and then shred the chicken with a fork. Discard the skin and bones.
5. Place the shredded chicken, sautéed onions, ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper into a food processor or meat grinder.
6. Pulse the mixture a few times, about 7 to 10 times until it is finely chopped into a chunky mixture but not a smooth puree. Set aside.
For the cheese filling:
1. Place the raisins into a large heat-proof bowl. Cover with boiling hot water and allow the raisins to steep for about 10-20 minutes, or until they are plump and hydrated.
2. Once the raisins are steeped, drain from water. Discard the water.
3. Place the raisins, farmers cheese or ricotta cheese, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl.
4. Mix to combine. Set aside.
For the naleskini:
1. Warming the milk and water (if using whole milk or almond milk) in a small saucepan over medium heat until the milk is lukewarm.
2. Meanwhile, measure the flour by spooning the flour into a measuring cup until it is level. This will give you a more accurate cup. Add the flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl.
3. Once the milk is lukewarm, slowly begin to stream it into the flour, salt and sugar mixture. As you are adding the milk to the flour, you want to be whisking it vigorously. After all of the milk (and water if using) is incorporated, add the egg and oil into the mixture. Continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
4. Let the mixture sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the mixture again for 2-3 more minutes, or until it is smooth with no lumps.
6. Your batter should appear very watery, this is normal. It is a very thin and airy batter, which is critical to making thin nalesniki. If your batter seems viscous or thick, add more milk, almond milk or water, 1 teaspoon at a time until it is at the right consistency.
7. Once the batter is ready, heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet on the stove. The pan must be nonstick.
8. Place the pan over medium-high heat and once the pan is hot, add slightly less than ⅓ cup of batter to the pan. Immediately raise the pan and flick your arm around, allowing the batter to pour all over the pan and seep to fill the surface. Your batter should be thin enough that it moves quickly across the pan without issue. This process is similar to making crepes.
9. Cook nalesnik for about 1 minute on the first side, then flip with a spatula, tongs or your hands and cook for another 45 seconds on the second side until just golden. Place the cooked nalesniki on a tray. You want them to remain soft and pliable, not crispy.
10. Repeat this process with the remaining batter. Set the nalesniki aside.
For the assembly and serving:
1. Open the nalesniki on a large plate and put 2 heaping tablespoons of the desired filling about 2 inches from to top end of the nalesniki, shaping it into a 3 inch by 1 inch log. Fold the lower edge of the nalesniki over the filling, then fold the side inwards and continue to roll the nalesniki, until it is sealed. Repeat with the remaining nalesniki and filling.
2. To serve, you will want to crisp the filled nalesniki on a pan with about 1 teaspoon of oil. Place the oil into a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the filled nalesniki into the pan and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp.
3. Serve the nalesniki at room temperature or warm. Serve the chicken nalesniki plain or with fried onions on top, and the cheese nalesniki with sour cream, strawberry jam and dusted with confectioners sugar.
Rose's Nalesniki
The two cheese and chicken fillings make enough for one full batch of nalesniki, so if you are making a single batch of nalesniki, choose either the chicken or cheese filling. If you are making both fillings, double the quantity of nalesniki you are making, or halve the fillings.
Makes: 10 to 12 nalesniki
Total Time: 1 hour active + 2 hours inactive
Ingredients
For the chicken filling:
4 chicken quarters, bone in and skin on
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
2 onions, peeled leave one onion whole and finely chop the other onion
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed or vegetable oil
For the cheese filling:
1 pound farmers cheese or ricotta cheese, drained
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup red raisins
For the nalesniki:
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, almond milk, or water
¼ cup water (if using whole milk or almond milk)
1 egg
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed or vegetable oil
Preparation
For the chicken filling:
1. Place the chicken quarters, the carrot, celery and 1 whole onion into a medium pot. Cover with cold water and season the water with 1 teaspoon of salt. Place the pot over high heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook on a simmer for about 2 hours until the both is golden and the chicken is fork tender and cooked.
2. Meanwhile, place a small pan over medium low heat. Place 2 tablespoons of oil into the pan. Add the finely chopped onion into the pan and ½ teaspoon of salt. Saute the onions for about 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
3. Remove the chicken from the soup. Strain the broth and the vegetables (use for another dish).
4. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and then shred the chicken with a fork. Discard the skin and bones.
5. Place the shredded chicken, sautéed onions, ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper into a food processor or meat grinder.
6. Pulse the mixture a few times, about 7 to 10 times until it is finely chopped into a chunky mixture but not a smooth puree. Set aside.
For the cheese filling:
1. Place the raisins into a large heat-proof bowl. Cover with boiling hot water and allow the raisins to steep for about 10-20 minutes, or until they are plump and hydrated.
2. Once the raisins are steeped, drain from water. Discard the water.
3. Place the raisins, farmers cheese or ricotta cheese, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl.
4. Mix to combine. Set aside.
For the naleskini:
1. Warming the milk and water (if using whole milk or almond milk) in a small saucepan over medium heat until the milk is lukewarm.
2. Meanwhile, measure the flour by spooning the flour into a measuring cup until it is level. This will give you a more accurate cup. Add the flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl.
3. Once the milk is lukewarm, slowly begin to stream it into the flour, salt and sugar mixture. As you are adding the milk to the flour, you want to be whisking it vigorously. After all of the milk (and water if using) is incorporated, add the egg and oil into the mixture. Continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes until well combined.
4. Let the mixture sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
5. Whisk the mixture again for 2-3 more minutes, or until it is smooth with no lumps.
6. Your batter should appear very watery, this is normal. It is a very thin and airy batter, which is critical to making thin nalesniki. If your batter seems viscous or thick, add more milk, almond milk or water, 1 teaspoon at a time until it is at the right consistency.
7. Once the batter is ready, heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet on the stove. The pan must be nonstick.
8. Place the pan over medium-high heat and once the pan is hot, add slightly less than ⅓ cup of batter to the pan. Immediately raise the pan and flick your arm around, allowing the batter to pour all over the pan and seep to fill the surface. Your batter should be thin enough that it moves quickly across the pan without issue. This process is similar to making crepes.
9. Cook nalesnik for about 1 minute on the first side, then flip with a spatula, tongs or your hands and cook for another 45 seconds on the second side until just golden. Place the cooked nalesniki on a tray. You want them to remain soft and pliable, not crispy.
10. Repeat this process with the remaining batter. Set the nalesniki aside.
For the assembly and serving:
1. Open the nalesniki on a large plate and put 2 heaping tablespoons of the desired filling about 2 inches from to top end of the nalesniki, shaping it into a 3 inch by 1 inch log. Fold the lower edge of the nalesniki over the filling, then fold the side inwards and continue to roll the nalesniki, until it is sealed. Repeat with the remaining nalesniki and filling.
2. To serve, you will want to crisp the filled nalesniki on a pan with about 1 teaspoon of oil. Place the oil into a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place the filled nalesniki into the pan and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp.
3. Serve the nalesniki at room temperature or warm. Serve the chicken nalesniki plain or with fried onions on top, and the cheese nalesniki with sour cream, strawberry jam and dusted with confectioners sugar.
