Russian Crepes with Cheese (Nalesniki) - Natasha's Kitchen

Hi, I'm Natasha of Natashaskitchen.com and today I'm going to show you how to make the Russian version of crepes. There's just something so special about crepes. Did you know there are entire restaurants devoted just to making crepes? And crepes are probably one of the fanciest breakfasts you'll have and after watching this video, I think you'll see that crepes aren't any more complicated than making waffles. Just think of them as really skinny pancakes. So let's talk about the ingredients. We're going to start off with half a cup of lukewarm water, 1 cup of milk, 4 large eggs, 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted, 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and a pinch of salt. For the filling, we'll need an 8-ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature preferred, a 16-ounce tub of cottage cheese, a third cup of sugar, and 3 fourths cups of raisins or craisins. What I love about this recipe is you just put everything into a blender and give it a whirl until it's well mixed. It's easy. I love easy. Add everything in this order. The water, then milk and butter, your 4 eggs, 1 cup of flour, your sugar, and just a pinch of salt. Put the lid on and mix it just until it's all evenly blended. And it's done. These are the tools I use to make the crepes process easier. I start with a really thin edge spatula and this really helps me get under the crepes to flip them. Then a small ladle. And if you don't have a small ladle, go ahead and use an ice cream scoop. And finally, you need a really good non-stick skillet. I use the Circulon brand. And make sure that the bottom is not scraped or scratched, otherwise your crepes will stick to the pan. Heat your non-stick skillet over medium heat and add just a small dab of butter. Let that melt and just swirl it around the bottom to coat it. Then we're going to ladle your batter into the skillet. And as soon as you do that, make sure that you swirl the pan right away. Once you can easily get under the edge, go ahead and flip it over. And just saute for another 30 seconds or so. You can tell when it's done because it has a really nice golden top. Transfer it to a cutting board to cool. And don't stack them on top of each other while they're hot. Let them cool down a little bit. Oh my gosh, I can see myself in the reflection of the lens and this is really freaky. Okay. Oh my goodness, I had to eat it. I have to eat one before they're done. They're so good. That's what's great about these, isn't it? This makes about 15 really soft and perfect crepes. You're going to love these. Rinse your cottage cheese in a fine mesh colander. And just continue rinsing it until the water runs clear. Once it's done, drain the water well. You'll see individual curds of cottage cheese. Go ahead and transfer this to a flat-bottomed bowl. Next, you're going to add an 8-ounce block of cream cheese and one-third cup of sugar. Mash everything together. Once it's pretty well mashed together, it's done. It's not going to be smooth. As you can see, it's still pretty lumpy, but that's okay. Our crepes are ready. The cheese filling is done. Let's finish these up. You're going to start by putting a generous amount of cheese right in the center and just spread it out to the edges. Then top with about 10, 15, as many as you want really. I'm using craisins, but you can also use raisins. I've also used chunks of pineapple, which was really good. And just start rolling from the edge. I like to cut them in half. You don't have to, but I do. And then just transfer them to a Pyrex dish. All right, just finish these up. This means crepes for breakfast for the next few days. Yum, I can't wait. Just cover them with plastic and put them in the fridge. What we like to do is we saute it up in a little bit of butter just till it's a nice golden brown on the outside. And then top it with whatever you like. You can put fresh fruit over it, put some berry sauce. I love it with sour cream. Really, anything you can think of. I know you'll love this recipe.