Romanian Kitchens Have a Plăcintă
A Sunday-morning market in the old quarters of Bucharest. Butter-scented air drifts from a stall, where a grandmother is cooking thin rounds of dough on a hot griddle. White cheese melts and oozes from the middle. This is plăcintă, Romania's national pie.
Plăcintă is a dish in which a thinly rolled wheat dough is wrapped around a filling and cooked in a skillet or the oven. The most popular filling is fresh cow's-milk cheese (brânză de vaci). But there are many others: pumpkin, apple, cabbage, potato. The charm of plăcintă is that it can be sweet or savory.
In Romania, plăcintă is the origin point of home cooking. Grandmother's food. A weekend breakfast. A snack for the children. Something to offer guests. It shows up on every occasion. Ask a Romanian "What is your favorite dish of your mother's?" and there is a good chance the answer is "plăcintă."
The name comes from the Latin "placenta" (a flat cake). It is the general name for the thin-dough pies eaten widely in Romania, Moldova and western Ukraine. The filling varies by region and season, and cheese, pumpkin, apple, cabbage and potato are all used. There are two ways of cooking it: in a skillet or in the oven.
Ingredients (serves 4 / about 8 pieces)
In Romania the cheese used is brânză de vaci, a fresh cow's-milk cheese. The closest equivalent elsewhere is cottage cheese (the sieved, smooth type). Ricotta can also stand in, but it is a little wetter, so squeeze it lightly in a cloth. Cream cheese is too high in fat and makes a heavy result.
Even 1 teaspoon of dried dill settles the direction of the aroma. If the cheese alone tastes flat to you, don't leave the dill out: it gives the green fragrance of Romanian home cooking.
Method
Making the dough
Plăcintă dough resembles the phyllo dough of burek (in Japanese), but it is somewhat thicker. You don't need to roll it thin enough to see through.
The History of This Dish: A Pie Lineage from the Roman Empire
The history of plăcintă goes back to ancient Rome.
The word "plăcintă" comes from the Latin "placenta." The Roman placenta was a flat cake of wheat dough layered with cheese, and it is the direct ancestor of today's plăcintă. Cato, the Roman statesman of the 2nd century BC, wrote down a detailed recipe for placenta in his farming book De Agri Cultura.
Romania (formerly Dacia) became a province of the Roman Empire in AD 106. During roughly 170 years of Roman rule, Roman food culture took root among the Dacians along with the Latin language. That the name plăcintă was inherited directly from Latin is one piece of evidence that Romanian is a Romance language.
In the medieval Romanian principalities (Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania), plăcintă was the everyday food of peasants. The ease of making it from nothing but flour and cheese let it serve as a staple to get through hard winters. Mentions of plăcintă appear frequently in documents of the 14th and 15th centuries.
The influence of the Ottoman Empire cannot be ignored either. During Ottoman rule from the 16th to the 19th century, Turkic pie culture such as burek (in Japanese) flowed into Romania. The technique of layering thin sheets of dough in plăcintă may have been influenced by Ottoman börek culture. Still, the name and basic structure of plăcintă existed in Romania before the Ottomans.
Under communism (1947–1989), food shortages in Romania were severe. But flour and cheese were comparatively easy to get, and plăcintă was also a survival food that carried people through hard times. Even under the austerity policies of the Ceaușescu regime, plăcintă kept being made at home in rural areas.
After the 1989 revolution, Romanian food culture changed rapidly. Western fast-food chains arrived and the eating habits of the younger generation diversified. But plăcintă has not changed. If anything, it has been re-evaluated as a "Romanian tradition." Modern takes on plăcintă are popular in cafés and restaurants in Bucharest. Upscale versions wrapped around truffle cheese or smoked salmon have also appeared.
The reason plăcintă remains Romania's national dish is clear. The ingredients are cheap. It is simple to make. It can be adapted freely. It suits old and young alike. Few dishes meet all four of these conditions at once.
In Transylvania there is also a distinct style in which sour cream is kneaded into the dough. Dough with sour cream is moister and softer, and blends better with the cheese filling. Transylvania is a region with strong Hungarian cultural influence, and mutual influence with the Hungarian rétes (thin-dough pastry) has been noted.
Plăcintă is a national dish not only of Romania but also of the Republic of Moldova. Moldovan plăcintă is almost identical to the Romanian kind. Given the history of Moldova being separated from Romania in the Soviet era, it is natural that they share the same food culture. In Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, a chain that specializes in plăcintă, "La Plăcinte," is hugely popular.
Cooking Tips: Six Techniques for a Perfect Plăcintă
1. A "soft" dough is the right dough
The ideal plăcintă dough is a little softer than an earlobe. A stiff dough is hard to roll out and turns too crisp after cooking. Add slightly more water. If it gets sticky, adjust with dusting flour. A good guide is the same softness as the dough for pierogi (in Japanese).
2. Control the moisture in the cheese
Cottage cheese varies in moisture from brand to brand. If it is too wet, water will seep from the filling during cooking and the dough turns soggy. It is safer to drain it in a sieve for about 10 minutes before use. If it is too dry, on the other hand, the filling will be crumbly, so adjust with sour cream.
3. Use "plenty" of butter
Butter is what gives plăcintă its crispness. About 1 teaspoon in the skillet is not enough. Use 5 g of butter (a little over 1 teaspoon) per piece, and make sure the butter reaches the whole surface. The cheese bread khachapuri is also crisped by cooking in butter, and the principle is the same.
4. Keep the heat at "low-medium"
Over high heat only the surface burns while the cheese inside stays cold. Cook slowly over low-medium heat and wait until the cheese has melted. Covering the pan speeds the heating of the cheese with steam. About 6–8 minutes in total for both sides is the guide.
5. Brush on more butter after cooking
Brush a thin layer of melted butter over the cooked plăcintă. This is the Romanian grandmother's secret. The surface turns glossy and the butter aroma rises. Dust it with powdered sugar for a sweet, dessert-like version, or serve with sour cream as a savory meal.
6. Stack them and let them rest
Pile the cooked plăcintă on a plate, one on top of another. This is the Romanian way. Stacking lets the steam reach the pieces beneath, so the inside of the dough turns moist. Cover a stack of about 5 with a cloth and wait 5 minutes. You get the ideal texture: crisp outside, moist inside. It is the same principle as steaming burek (in Japanese) under a cloth after baking.
Plăcintă Variations: Sweet and Savory
The greatest appeal of plăcintă is the freedom of the filling. Not only cheese: wrap seasonal ingredients and you can make any flavor.
Savory plăcintă
| Name | Filling | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Plăcintă cu brânză | Fresh cheese | The most popular. The recipe in this article |
| Plăcintă cu varză | Cabbage | Wraps sautéed shredded cabbage. A winter staple |
| Plăcintă cu cartofi | Potato | Wraps mashed potato. Very filling |
| Plăcintă cu ceapă | Onion | Onion cooked to a deep amber. Simple but deep |
Sweet plăcintă
| Name | Filling | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Plăcintă cu mere | Apple | Grated apple with cinnamon and sugar. The taste of autumn |
| Plăcintă cu dovleac | Pumpkin | Wraps sweetened cooked pumpkin. Popular around Halloween |
| Plăcintă cu vișine | Sour cherry | Tart cherries. Dusted with powdered sugar |
| Plăcintă cu mac | Poppy seed | Wraps poppy seed paste. A Christmas staple |
| Plăcintă cu nuci | Walnut | Crushed walnuts with sugar and cinnamon. A staple for festive days |
Bake the pumpkin whole with its skin in a 200°C (390°F) oven for 40 minutes. Break the flesh up with a spoon and mix in 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Use it as the filling, wrap and cook, and you have pumpkin plăcintă. Just as pastel de choclo makes the most of the sweetness of corn, pumpkin plăcintă tastes delicious on the natural sweetness of the pumpkin alone.
The Food Culture of Plăcintă: Romanian Homes and Celebrations
In Romania, plăcintă is not merely a dish. It is the memory of home itself.
Grandmother's cooking. For Romanians, plăcintă is the dish of the "bunica" (grandmother). In rural areas, grandmothers stand in the kitchen on weekends and bake plăcintă for their grandchildren. That scene is a childhood landscape for Romanians and a symbol of nostalgia.
A seasonal calendar. The fillings of plăcintă follow the seasons. Cheese and herbs in spring. Sour cherries in summer. Pumpkin and apple in autumn. Cabbage and potato in winter. Look at the filling and you can tell the season.
Christmas plăcintă. Poppy seed plăcintă is set on the Christmas Eve table. Romanian Christmas has a strong tradition of being spent with the family, and plăcintă is a dish that symbolizes family bonds. Just as svíčková (in Japanese) is a staple of the Czech Christmas dinner, plăcintă plays that role in Romania.
A food-cultural link with Moldova. In the Republic of Moldova, the plăcintă chain "La Plăcinte" enjoys national popularity. It has also expanded to Bucharest, helping a younger generation rediscover a traditional dish.
Plăcintă and the religious calendar. Romania is a Christian (Orthodox) country. During Orthodox fasting periods (Lent) there is a tradition of avoiding meat and dairy. Plăcintă during a fast uses only vegetable fillings such as cabbage and potato. When the fast ends, cheese plăcintă returns to the table. On the morning of Easter (Paște), people bake plăcintă generous with cheese and share the joy of the Resurrection. Just as mujaddara is a Lenten meal in Lebanon, plăcintă is a dish deeply tied to the religious calendar.
Plăcintă as street food. In Romanian cities there are stalls specializing in bread and pastries called "simigerie." One of the most popular items there is plăcintă. In central Bucharest and the old town of Cluj-Napoca in particular, it is an everyday sight to see office workers on their commute walking with a plăcintă in hand. The price is about 5–15 lei, and with a coffee it makes a perfectly good breakfast.
Burek (in Japanese) is a phyllo pie of Ottoman origin. Plăcintă is a thin-dough pie of Latin origin. They look similar but have different origins. Burek is rolled into a spiral and baked in the oven. Plăcintă is folded into a square and cooked in a skillet. The plăcintă dough is also slightly thicker. The taste is entirely different.
Sourcing Ingredients: Gathering What Plăcintă Needs
Every ingredient for plăcintă can be found at an ordinary supermarket. No special ingredient is needed at all. You could call it the simplest of Romanian dishes.
Substitution techniques
| Ingredient | Substitute | Difference in the result |
|---|---|---|
| Cottage cheese | Ricotta | Slightly watery. Drain before use |
| Sour cream | Plain yogurt | More sour, but a perfectly good substitute |
| Dough | Spring roll wrappers (two layers) | Easy. The texture is close |
| Dill | Flat-leaf parsley | The flavor differs, but it still gives a fresh note |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the difference between plăcintă and burek?
Their origins differ. Plăcintă derives from Latin and goes back to ancient Rome. Burek (in Japanese) derives from Turkic and goes back to the Ottoman Empire. In cooking, plăcintă is basically skillet-cooked and burek is basically oven-baked. The taste and texture are also quite different.
Q2. Which is authentic, skillet or oven?
Both are. In rural areas the skillet was the mainstream. In cities and on special days the oven is preferred. Skillet cooking makes it crisper. Oven baking gives a moister result.
Q3. Can it be frozen?
Yes, before cooking. Wrap the filled parcels in plastic and freeze. Cook them in the skillet straight from frozen, without thawing. Add 2–3 minutes to the cooking time. Freezing after cooking is not recommended because the dough turns limp.
Q4. What filling is good for children?
Apple plăcintă is the most popular with children. Just grate the apple and mix in sugar and cinnamon. A dusting of powdered sugar after cooking goes over well. "Nutella plăcintă," wrapped around chocolate spread, is a favorite of modern Romanian children.
Q5. What can I do with leftover dough?
Bake the dough alone in thin sheets and sprinkle with salt for crisp chips. It is also good floated in soup. Fried in oil, it becomes a crunchy snack like the shell of an empanada.
Q6. I want to know more about Romanian food
Plăcintă is the entrance to Romanian cuisine. For a stewed dish to go alongside, sarmale, meat filling wrapped in sour cabbage, is the easiest next dish to make. There are plenty of other attractive dishes, such as mici (grilled minced meat) and ciorbă (sour soup). Elsewhere in Eastern Europe there is a rich culture of "wrapping in dough" in pierogi (in Japanese) (Polish dumplings), khinkali (Georgian meat dumplings) and satsivi (in Japanese) (Georgian chicken in walnut sauce).
Q7. What drinks go with plăcintă?
In Romania, plăcintă with cafea cu lapte (milk coffee) is the classic breakfast. Tea suits the sweet kinds. Romanian wine (a white made from Fetească Albă) pairs well with savory cheese plăcintă. Many people also have it with beer (Romanian brands such as Ursus and Timișoreana).
Sources
- Plăcintă - Wikipedia (English) — A comprehensive explanation of the history, variations and regional differences of plăcintă
- Romanian Plăcintă Recipe - Taste of Romania — A detailed explanation of the traditional recipe by a Romanian-American
- Moldovan Placinta Guide - Atlas Obscura — Reportage on the plăcintă culture of Moldova
- Klepper, N. (2012). Taste of Romania: Its Cookery and Glimpses of Its History. Hippocrene Books.
Related Articles: Eastern European Pies and Wrapped Dishes
Eastern European pie culture: Burek (in Japanese) is Bosnia's spiral meat pie, of Ottoman origin. Khachapuri is Georgia's cheese bread, with the same "dough plus cheese" combination as plăcintă. Pierogi (in Japanese) are Poland's filled dumplings, whose filling can likewise be changed freely.
Wrapped dishes of the world: Empanada is Argentina's filled pie. Manti are Central Asian steamed dumplings. Dolma is the Turkish dish wrapped in grape leaves. "Wrapping something in something" is a cooking impulse shared by all humanity.
Eastern European home cooking: Borscht (in Japanese) is Ukraine's beet soup. Goulash is Hungary's paprika stew. Together with plăcintă, they make up the dishes that stand for Eastern Europe's "grandmother's cooking."
Conclusion: The Universality of "Wrapping"
Plăcintă is a dish that has lived on in Romanian homes for more than 2,000 years since the ancient Roman "placenta." It begins with the barest ingredients, flour and cheese. Yet its taste carries the weight of 2,000 years of history.
The plăcintă you make in your own kitchen may be a little different from a Romanian grandmother's. But that's fine. Change the filling freely and wrap seasonal ingredients: that act is the essence of plăcintă. Cheese, pumpkin or apple, it is still "wrap in dough and cook in a skillet." In this simple motion lies 2,000 years of Romanian wisdom. The plăcintă you cook in your kitchen becomes the newest page of that history.
