Cas la cuptor (Romanian baked fresh cheese)

Name: Cas la cuptor (Romanian baked fresh cheese)
Ingredients: 500 g cas (Romanian fresh cheese); 1 tablespoon butter; 4 eggs; 200 ml sour cream; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Children - Cas la cuptor (Romanian baked fresh cheese) by Silviana J. - Recipia

Cas la cuptor, a Romanian baked fresh cheese dish, is bound with eggs, sour cream and flour and develops a golden top. It’s good served warm or cold. I first check how much whey is left in the cas and leave it to drain until it stops dripping. I crumble it into small pieces, not a paste, so you can feel the pieces in the baked layer. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 30 minutes. Total time: 50 minutes. Servings: 4. About 520 kcal and 30 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

500 g cas (Romanian fresh cheese)
1 tablespoon butter
4 eggs
200 ml sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preparation

1. If there’s still whey in the cas, leave it to drain ahead of time. 2. Heat the oven to 180°C. 3. Crumble the cas into pieces. 4. Butter a ceramic casserole dish and arrange the cas in a single layer. 5. Beat the eggs with a whisk, as for an omelet. Add the sour cream, salt and pepper, then gradually stir in the flour, mixing well. 6. Pour the mixture over the cas and sprinkle with the paprika. 7. Put the dish on the oven rack and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes, until the top is golden.

Notes

This dish contains dairy, eggs and gluten. Fresh cas shouldn’t be very wet; if there’s a lot of whey, drain it well, because the liquid can leave the middle soft. Firmer cas crumbles cleanly, and larger pieces keep a more noticeable texture after baking. A thick ceramic dish may need a few minutes longer than 30, especially if the layer of cas is thick. I don’t rush mixing in the flour: I add it a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth. For the roasted peppers, remove the skin and seeds well; if they’re still damp after cleaning, pat them dry before mixing them in. Covered and kept in the fridge, the dish will keep for up to 3 days. It goes well with a salad of roasted peppers, black olives, a teaspoon tip of sugar, balsamic vinegar, a little salt and a few drops of olive oil.