Bulz is a Carpathian shepherd's specialty, built from leftover mămăligă wrapped around sharp ewe's-milk cheese and roasted over a woodfire until the crust crackles and the cheese melts within. It is mountain-pasture cooking at its most resourceful.
You break the crackly golden shell and a string of sharp, briny cheese pulls free from the warm cornmeal within. It is salty, buttery and primal, the kind of food that tastes of woodsmoke and mountain pastures even from an oven.
Coarse cornmeal cooked down stiff holds its shape and forms a starchy crust that browns and crisps under high heat, while the enclosed cheese melts into a molten core. Encasing the cheese fully prevents it leaking before the shell sets.
Variations
Grilled over coals for a smoky version; topped with a fried egg and sour cream as 'bulz ciobănesc'; some tuck in smoked bacon or a knob of butter alongside the cheese.
On the Palate
Where Bulz sits in the Romanian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 118 min
Cook coarse cornmeal in salted water, stirring, until you have a thick, firm polenta.
Watch outCook it stiff enough that a spoon stands up and it pulls away from the pot in a mass — too loose and the balls won't hold their shape.
- 28 min
Let the polenta cool just enough to handle without burning.
- 32 min
Take a handful of polenta and flatten it in your palm.
- 42 min
Place a cube of salty sheep's cheese (such as brânză de burduf) in the center.
- 54 min
Wrap the polenta fully around the cheese to form a tight ball.
Watch outSeal the cheese in completely with no cracks — any gap and it leaks out before the shell sets.
- 62 min
Brush the balls with a little melted butter or oil.
- 720 min
Bake or grill until the crust is golden and crisp and the cheese melts inside.
Watch outPull them when the crust is deep golden and crisp — that's when the cheese inside has just gone molten.
- 83 min
Serve hot, often with a fried egg and sour cream on top.
