Romanian Cheese Pies - Placinta
Placinta cu branza or Romanian Cheese Pie – this is a savory version of the many cheese pie recipes you will find in Romania.
Prep Time1 hour hr
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Course: Romanian Cooking
Cuisine: Romanian
Servings: 10
Calories: 304kcal
- 500 g/ 1.1 lbs/ 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 sachet instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 250 ml/ 8.4 fl.oz/ 1 cup lukewarm water
- 350 g/ 12.3 oz feta cheese preferably sheep's feta
- 3 green onions
- 1 small bunch dill
- fine sea salt and pepper
- a little oil for frying
Yeast dough:
In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
Slowly start adding the lukewarm water, mixing with a spoon until the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it stops sticking too much to the walls of the bowl, flouring your hands from time to time if necessary.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Alternatively, you can prepare the yeast dough in a food processor using the appropriate kneading accessories. I knead this kind of dough for about 3-4 minutes in the stand mixer.
Filling:
Crumble the feta cheese finely, but don't turn it to a paste, it is enough if you use a fork to crumble it.
Chop the scallions and the dill very finely.
Mix everything together and adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
Shape the pies:
Knead the risen dough very shortly to bring it in shape again. Divide it into 10 parts and form 10 balls. Roll each ball into a thin circle.
I did not require extra flour for rolling but do sprinkle the working surface and the rolling pin very lightly with flour if the dough starts to stick.
Place some filling in the middle of the circle and form a pocket by bringing together all the sides of the circle and pressing lightly to seal the pocket.
Roll the pocket again to make it flat. (See pictures above)
Place the pies on a piece of baking paper and let rest for 10 minutes.
Fry:
Heat a large non-stick pan. Brush it or spray it with a little oil and fry the pies about 2-3 minutes on each side.
You will have to work in two or three batches. Keep the finished pies warm in the lightly heated oven. Serve immediately.
Serving: 1pie | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 640mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g