Plăcintă, Romanian spinach and sheep’s cheese pie

Name: Plăcintă, Romanian spinach and sheep’s cheese pie
Ingredients: 3000 ml water; 1 kg fresh spinach leaves (from 2 kg spinach); 3 spring onions (45 g); 1 large onion (180 g); 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons ground sumac; 3 eggs; 400 g sheep’s milk telemea; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 60 g butter; 50 ml olive oil; 1 packet phyllo pastry sheets (400 g)

Appetizers - Plăcintă, Romanian spinach and sheep’s cheese pie by Lucia P. - Recipia

Plăcintă, the Romanian spinach and sheep’s cheese pie, is filled with blanched spinach and sheep’s cheese, layered between thin sheets that brown in the oven. Sumac gives the filling a slight tang, and the sheets on top turn golden with crisp edges. I usually go for the pieces from the edge, where you can taste more layers of pastry. Prep: 30 minutes. Cook: 53 minutes. Total time: 83 minutes. Serves: 8. About 460 kcal and 20 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

3000 ml water
1 kg fresh spinach leaves (from 2 kg spinach)
3 spring onions (45 g)
1 large onion (180 g)
30 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground sumac
3 eggs
400 g sheep’s milk telemea
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
60 g butter
50 ml olive oil
1 packet phyllo pastry sheets (400 g)

Preparation

1. Wash 1 kg of spinach leaves and blanch them for 3 minutes in 3000 ml of boiling water. Drain them well and chop finely. 2. Chop the large onion and the spring onions. Sauté them for 5 minutes in 30 ml of olive oil, until softened, then add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sumac. 3. Coarsely grate the telemea. Mix the eggs with the telemea and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, then fold in the spinach and sautéed onions. 4. Melt the butter and mix it with 45 ml of olive oil. Set aside 5 ml of oil for the last sheet. Grease a 30 x 40 cm baking pan with the butter and oil mixture, then lay in 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with the mixture. 5. Spread the filling over the pastry and cover with another 5 sheets, brushing each with the butter and oil mixture. Brush the last sheet with the 5 ml of reserved oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of sumac. Cut the pie into squares before baking. 6. Bake the pie for 45 minutes at 180°C in a preheated oven, until nicely browned on top.

Notes

Sheep’s milk telemea can be replaced with 400 g of cow’s milk telemea; the pastry sheets contain gluten, and the filling contains dairy and eggs. If the cheese is very salty, reduce the salt in the onions and taste the filling before spreading it. Mature spinach with large leaves may need another 2 minutes of blanching compared with young spinach. I put it in the oven 45 minutes before the meal; it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. Serve with plain yogurt and tomato salad.