Placinta taraneasca cu branza sarata/ Country-style salty cheese pie

21

Nu sunt un fan al retetelor cu poze pe etape, pentru ca mi se pare ca ia din misterul descoperirii propriei intuitii in bucatarie si uneori chiar anuleaza posibilitatea producerii gafelor memorabile, cele de care vom rade cu pofta peste multi, multi ani. Insa reteta asta de placinta taraneasca e ceva cu totul special, care ma tem ca n-ar iesi daca n-ar fi explicata mai bine. Si care, sincer, merita toata atentia noastra.

Ingrediente

Pentru aluat: 500 g faina, plus extra pentru framantat

4 linguri de ulei, plus extra pentru uns tava/framantat

200 ml apa

1 lgt bicarbonat de sodiu

1 praf de sare

Pentru umplutura: 500 g telemea usor sarata, zemoasa

5 oua de tara

1. Intr-un bol pregatim amestecul de branza si oua, amestecand usor cu furculita pana se faramiteaza. Dam deoparte.

2. In alt bol turnam faina, sarea si bicarbonatul, facem un cuib in mijloc si incepem sa turnam apa, intai jumatate din cantitate, urmata de 2 linguri de ulei, apoi cealalta jumatate si 2 linguri de ulei, si incepem sa formam coca si sa o framantam, aproximativ 10 minute. In functie de cum arata coca, e posibil sa mai aveti nevoie de faina – daca este prea lipicioasa – sau ulei, daca vi se pare prea sfaramicioasa si prea putin elastica.

3. Impartim coca obtinuta in doua, intindem fiecare bucata putin cu vergeaua, ca pe doua mini-pizze, apoi ungem o parte cu putin ulei iar deasupra o lipim pe cealalta. Le intepam bine cu incheieturile degetelor, iar apoi trecem la intins.

4. Intindem foaia cu ajutorul unei vergele pana devine subtire ca o foaie de hartie, avand un diametru  de cel putin un metru. Dupa cum vedeti din poza, aluatul a acoperit toata masa, deci nu exagerez.

5. Presaram deasupra bucatile de branza in amestec, iar apoi taiem cercul in doua bucati egale. Rulam fiecare bucata spre centru, din ambele laturi, astfel incat sa obtinem cate un rulou lung (cat masa).

6. Taiem cele doua rulouri obtinute in bucati, in functie de dimensiunea tavii noastre, ce a fost tapetata in prealabil cu putin ulei.

7. Putem sa stropim deasupra tot cu putin ulei, sau cu un ou batut si sa presaram putin zahar brun. Odata asezate in tava, rulourile mai trebuie sectionate din loc in loc (vezi foto) pentru a permite o coacere mai buna. Dam la cuptor pana devine rumena si frumoasa!

Love, love, love this pie! Arata senzational, iar gustul e cel de-acasa, umami pur :) Stiu ca initial poate parea greu de facut – chiar imposibil daca n-ai vergea sau o coada de matura subtire cu care sa intinzi aluatul – insa credeti-ma, once in a blue moon, merita!

Va imbratisez cu drag, mult mult drag,

Andie

*IN ENGLISH*

Usually I’m not a fan of step-by-step photos of recipes, because I feel like they take out the magic of discovering your own intuition in the kitchen and they even wipe out the possibility to make those life-long memorable mistakes. However, this country-style cheese pie is so special, that I am afraid you would get it wrong were it not explained thoroughly. The recipe is for a 50 cm round baking pan.

Ingredients

For the pastry: 500 g flour, plus extra for kneeding

4 tbs sunflower oil, plus extra kneeding/greasing

200 ml water

1 tbs baking powder

1 pinch of salt

For the filling: 500 g telemea (Romanian salty cheese, similar to feta cheese)

5 large eggs

1. Prepare the filling in a bowl, by mixing the cheese and eggs with a fork. Set aside.

2. In another bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking soda. Make a well in the centre and start mixing and pouring water, first half of the amount, then 2 tbs oil, then the other half, then the remaining 2 tbs oil. Start forming the dough and kneeding it, for about 10 minutes. It’s likely that you’ll need to add either a little bit of flour or water or oil, depending on whether the dough is too sticky or too crumbly, respectively.

3. Cut the dough in two and roll it  out to two small circles, like mini-pizzas. Spread one side with oil, place the other side on top and join them with your knuckles.

4. Roll out the dough with the help of a 1 m long, thin rolling pin, until it becomes really thin, almost like a sheet of paper, with a diameter of at least 1 m. As you can see from the picture, the dough spread on the entire table, so no, I’m not kidding.

5. Top with the cheese mixture, then cut the circle in half. Roll each piece from the sides to the centre to form a long thick rope.

6. Cut the two ropes in as many pieces as necessary to fill your greased baking pan.

7. You can sprinkle the pie with a bit of oil, or with some egg glaze and a little brown sugar. After placing them in the pan, the rolls must be cut from place to place (see photo) in order to allow for a better heat penetration. Bake until golden and pretty!

 

Love, love, love this pie: it looks awesome and it tastes like home! I know it may seem hard to make, especially if you don’t own a long thin rolling pin, but trust me, once in a blue moon, it’s worth it!

Hugs,

Andie

21 COMMENTS

    • Dear Yadsia, the cheese is a Romanian traditional, called telemea. It is salty and not similar to anything produced in the West. You can either look it up as “telemea” or “branza” in Eastern European ethnic stores or you can simply use greek feta cheese. I have to tell you, however, that feta is much more creamy than the telemea.
      Also, make sure that you have a long, thin rolling pin to roll the dough – it should be as thick as a newspaper page. Hugs and let me know how it worked out for you, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!

      • Dear Yadsia, you could also try haloumi cheese (chewier than telemea) or sheep’s cheese( which is sheep’s milk telemea) at Turkish food stores. I miss telemea (cow’s milk is standard) very much and so far that’s the closest I got to it. Good luck, the pie must be awesome! :)

  1. o intrebare, see you praf de copt nu merge sau se intareste, ca vreau sa fac o placinta si imi place cum este dar nu am bicarbonat acum acasa.

  2. Minunata,aduce a placinta dobrogeana(creata).Voiam sa stiu cum rulezi foaia.Practic unesti marginile si apoi strangi usor ruloul format,ca la placinta creata,sau cum?

    • Draga mea, intrucat nu imi dau seama cu siguranta la care impaturire te referi, repet tot procesul si sper sa explic cat mai bine. In momentul in care foaia e intinsa pe masa si acoperita cu branza apucam aluatul de una din laturile lungi (aluatul fiind cat masa are forma de dreptunghi) si o impaturim pana la linia de mijloc a dreptunghiului. Procedam la fel si cu cealalta latura lunga, astfel incat cele doua laturi lungi se vor intalni la mijloc. Acum deja dreptunghiul nostru e mult ingustat. Apucam din nou de una din laturile lungi si de data asta nu o mai impaturim pana la linia mediana a dreptunghiului, ci o suprapunem complet, pana cand cele doua laturi lungi sunt unite. Se formeaza astfel un rulou foarte lung, dar ingust. Asezam ruloul astfel format in tava, sub forma de spirala, pornind de la interiorul tavii spre margine. Daca e cazul, el poate fi taiat acolo unde e nevoie pentru a sta mai bine. Am explicat mai pe inteles? :)

      • In poze aluatul a fost taiat in bucati mici care sa corespunda lungimii tavii, dar eu am descoperit ca e mult mai simplu sa rulez spirala.

  3. Pot sa folosesc și alta umplutura la acest foietaj, de exemplu mere?
    Mi-a ieșit delicioasa placinta de brânza!
    Mulțumesc.

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