Lefse

Lefse — a thin, soft, potato-based flatbread cooked on a large, flat griddle — is the Norwegian immigrant contribution to the Upper Midwest table, maintained in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas by families whose great-grandparents brought the technique from Norway in the 1870s-1900s. Lefse is made from riced potatoes, flour, butter, and cream, rolled paper-thin on a cloth-covered board with a grooved rolling pin (the *lefse rolling pin*), and cooked on a hot, ungreased griddle until brown spots appear on both sides. The specific tools — the grooved pin, the long, thin *lefse stick* for turning, the griddle — are inherited and treasured. Lefse making in the Upper Midwest is a December tradition: families gather to produce dozens of rounds for Christmas, storing them layered between wax paper.

A round, paper-thin (1-2mm) flatbread approximately 30cm in diameter, pale with brown spots from the griddle, soft and pliable. The flavour is mild — potato, butter, and a faint sweetness — and the texture is tender and slightly chewy. Lefse is served at room temperature, spread with butter and sugar (or butter and cinnamon-sugar, or butter and lingonberry jam), rolled or folded, and eaten by hand.

Butter and sugar, butter and cinnamon-sugar, butter and lingonberry jam, or butter and brown sugar. Lefse is a holiday food, a sweet bread, and a comfort food. With strong coffee.