Romanian Fried Papanasi

[Swisskaese]

I just got back from two back to back trips to Bucharest and I tried Papanisi at La Mama's restaurant.

I searched for a recipe on the internet and found a few, but none of them were for the fried version.

Any Romanians out there with their mother's recipe?

Thanks,

Swisskaese

[Fat Guy]

Try searching for "papanasi prajiti" and you should find some recipes.

[Swisskaese]

Thanks for the info. I know the correct word for fried Papanasi, but again the recipe that I found on the internet does not explain how to make them properly.

[theclash]

Will it be okay in Romanian? My wife has one but it might take a little while for her to translate it.

P.S. Fat Guy my wife would like to know how you knew the correct name

[Swisskaese]

Send it Romanian. I speak Italian and I work with several Romanians who can translate what I can't figure out on my own.

Thanks a lot.

[theclash]

it is being translated right now, give me an hour or so.

[theclash]

1/4 kg. fresh cow cheese (cottage cheese)

1 egg

the zest of one lemon

30 gr. of flour

pinch of salt

to sprinkle on after cooking

(powdered sugar)

(vanilla)

put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well (about 2 minutes)

transfer all to a plastic foil, powdered with 1-2 tbls of flour. Form a thick roll from which you cut twelve pieces.

each piece will be rolled through flour giving it a round flat shape 1cm thick

when all are ready heat the empty pan 3-4 minutes, at medium temp and then put 2 spoons (30 ml) oil. Immediately put the "papanasi" in the pan (uncrowded)

fry on one side 1-2 minutes until golden, flip carefully and fry another 1-2 minutes.

if needed add 1-2 more spoons of oil so the "papanasi" don't stick

serve immediately with powdered sugar and vanilla

good luck and let me know how it goes

[ludja]

1/4 kg. fresh cow cheese (cottage cheese)

just curious, do you know if it is really american "cottage cheese" or else is it farmer's cheese?

(for at least some central/eastern european dishes the substitute for their "fresh chees" is often what we call farmer's cheese. (Eg. Austrian Cheese Strudel (sweet). I don't know the exact difference between cottage and farmer's cheese but the latter is a little dryer and to me richer tasting...

sounds like a dish I would really like...

[Fat Guy]

P.S. Fat Guy my wife would like to know how you knew the correct name

Best friend growing up had Roumanian parents.

[theclash]

1/4 kg. fresh cow cheese (cottage cheese)

just curious, do you know if it is really american "cottage cheese" or else is it farmer's cheese?

(for at least some central/eastern european dishes the substitute for their "fresh chees" is often what we call farmer's cheese. (Eg. Austrian Cheese Strudel (sweet). I don't know the exact difference between cottage and farmer's cheese but the latter is a little dryer and to me richer tasting...

sounds like a dish I would really like...

it may well be farmer's cheese. the recipe just says "fresh cow cheese", my wife described it to me as like cottage cheese but with less liquid and more fat, and now she just showed me another recipe that calls for riccota

[theclash]

P.S. Fat Guy my wife would like to know how you knew the correct name

Best friend growing up had Roumanian parents.

well we should go to Cornel's Garden some time

[Fat Guy]

Farmer's cheese and pot cheese are just cottage cheese that has had extra moisture drained or pressed out of it. There are, however, many variants of all these cheeses. One of the problems with reproducing dishes internationally is that the basic fresh cheeses vary so much from place to place. My guess, however, is that your best bet for this recipe would be to take some medium-curd cottage cheese and tie it in cheesecloth over a bowl overnight. This would probably give you something closer to a Central European farmer's cheese in texture and moisture content.

Ricotta is a completely different product, usually (in the US) made from a combination of whey and milk.

[ludja]

Farmer's cheese and pot cheese are just cottage cheese that has had extra moisture drained or pressed out of it. There are, however, many variants of all these cheeses. One of the problems with reproducing dishes internationally is that the basic fresh cheeses vary so much from place to place. My guess, however, is that your best bet for this recipe would be to take some medium-curd cottage cheese and tie it in cheesecloth over a bowl overnight. This would probably give you something closer to a Central European farmer's cheese in texture and moisture content.

Thanks for the additional info Fat Guy

why not just buy farmer's cheese?

(if think this would be better than drained cottage cheese; although nice to have this option if no other choice.) In practice I've found farmer's cheese to be a better substitute..

[Swisskaese]

Thank you very much for the translated recipe.

Not to brag, but I will anyway, we have very good white cheese in Israel. I will try it with our cottage cheese. It is different from American cottage cheese. It is not as watery.

I think Ricotta would be too mild and farmers cheese might be too dry.

I will let you know how it turns out.

[Mistinguett]

well we should go to Cornel's Garden some time

Actually, the Garden is not Cornel's anymore - for at least 2 years the name changed to Romanian Garden. Just in case that anyone is interested and looking for the place. Anyway... I'm up for a get-together at the Garden, haven't been in a while and I kinda crave their tripe soup.

I highly recommend the papanasi at Romanian Garden - this is the main reason for not trying any of the recipes in the cookbooks I own, I don't think I can do better than their cook.

The papanasi in my avatar are from another Romanian place, but they're not as good as Garden's.

[Luggage386]

Did anyone try the recipe given above? I'm very curious to hear how it turned out.

[Swisskaese]

I haven't had time to make it yet. I am still recovering from Passover.