Plăcintă is a whole family of Moldovan-Romanian filled pastries — thin dough wrapped around cheese, potato, cabbage or apple and baked or pan-fried. From street kiosks to home kitchens, it is everyday comfort in countless regional forms.
Cut a wedge of plăcintă — golden-brown crispy spiral layers, cheese-and-dill filling visible inside, glossy from oil. Bite: outside crackly-flaky, inside soft and salty-cheese-rich, dill perfuming everything. With sour cream on top and a glass of cold ayran-style milk, this is Moldovan street-food classic.
Paper-thin dough rolled with filling creates layered texture. Pan-frying creates golden crust while interior steams. Folding pattern is key to layered look.
Variations
With cabbage filling. With apple (sweet). With potato-and-mint. With pumpkin. With cherry. Larger oven-baked version.
On the Palate
Where Plăcintă sits in the Moldovan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · 60 min active · 30 min waiting
- 140 min
Make dough: 500 g flour + 1 tsp salt + 50 ml oil + 250 ml warm water; knead 8 min. Rest 30 min.
- 24 min
Make filling: 500 g crumbled brânză + 2 eggs + 2 tbsp chopped dill + 1/2 tsp salt; mix.
- 312 min
Divide dough into 4 portions. Roll each paper-thin (~50 cm × 30 cm) on oiled surface.
- 46 min
Spread 1/4 filling across surface; fold in thirds lengthwise, then roll up into a flat spiral.
- 52 min
Press to flatten to a 20-cm round.
- 61 min
Heat 2 tbsp oil in heavy pan over medium heat.
- 710 min
Cook each plăcintă 4-5 min per side until golden-brown.
- 82 min
Slice into wedges; serve warm with sour cream.
