I wish you all a belated Happy Pi Day! Although Moldovan culture is known for its frequent celebrations, since Moldovans (like the rest of the world) write their days before their months, this holiday doesn't make sense. So, my partner and I tried to explain it in English club (without much success) and then ate our own sad little pizza pi for dinner. Even if Pi Day isn't important in Moldova, PIE itself is! But, it's not pie as we generally use the English word in the US. Romanian speakers translate the word plăcintă as ”pie” - this translation matches more the British English understanding. In general, it is dough stuffed with a savory or a sweet filling. Plăcinta is a key dish, made and eaten regularly, both for everyday consumption and for special events. I've been told repeatedly by many people that every girl is expected to learn how to make plăcintă and that she is marriageable when she can make it well. I've been told a woman's household abilities are often judged by how well she makes plăcinte. When both my partner Chris & I learned together how to make plăcinte, people seemed to think it odd that he was learning and our teacher was oft frustrated that we could be so old and not yet know how to make this dish. There is both a wide variety of ways in which plăcintă is made and some general standards/commonalities. Cooks will bake them or fry them. The fillings are: Potatoes; cabbage; sheep-milk cheese; apples; pumpkins. The cook may use store-bought dough/wrappings (everyday cooking) or may make their own dough (imperative when hosting guests, I have been told). There are many ways to shape different plăcinte before baking/frying. Below are a bunch of pictures I've saved from an image search: Placinta is widely available in shops, stands, and restaurants. It's a relatively cheap and convenient food. The only food sold at my schools is placinta, available throughout morning breaks for a few lei each. When I've not packed a lunch, I'll go down to a shop and get a cabbage or cheese placintă. I've found one video with English subtitling that shows one recipe for this. Know that the metric system is used here and that "cottage cheese" is (in my opinion) a mistranslation (the recipe is using salty sheep cheese, which is why they say to add salt only if needed).
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Rebecca LehmanHealth Education volunteer serving at Boris Dînga Middle & High School in Criuleni, Moldova. Archives
May 2017
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