Cheese Cornmeal (Mamaliga cu brinza)

Mamaliga is a popular Romanian dish. It is light  and healthy dish when made plain, to replace bread or served with cottage cheese or stews or other garnishes and Garlic Sauce (recipe bellow).
I like to make it with layers of  feta cheese and mozzarella and serve it toped with sour cream.


 
Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup finely grated feta cheese
3/4 cup grated mozzarella
3-4 tbsp. sunflower oil
Sour cream, for serving
 
Directions:
Place water into a larger pot and bring it to a boil; add salt. Reduce heat and add the cornmeal in streams while whisking continually to avoid lumps. Cover pot, reduce heat to low and cook for about 10-15 minutes until cornmeal has thickened. (To check, while cooking, remove pot from heat and carefully remove lid (it splatters when cooking ) and stir to make sure it cooks evenly and doesn't burn to the bottom, and add more water if needed). Once cooked, remove from heat; set aside.

Mix together feta and mozzarella cheese in a bowl.
 
Lightly grease with oil an oven proof 9 inch pie dish. (I like to use a glass pie pan).
Place about a ladle of cornmeal into the pan. Top with about 1/2 tablespoon of oil (it helps to smooth out, the otherwise sticky cornmeal) and spread cornmeal around to cover the entire  bottom of the pan. Spread with a quarter of the cheese mixture.  Repeat cornmeal and cheese layers 3 more times, until you have 4 layers in total. Top with remaining cheese.
 
Bake in the oven at 350 F for about 20– 25 minutes or until cheese on top has melted.
Cut into wedges and serve warm with a spoon of sour cream on top.

Variation: Great also with cottage cheese and Garlic Sauce (Mujdei- a Rumanian specialty sauce)- recipe bellow.


Serves: 2 people

Garlic Sauce (Mujdei de usturoi)
 
Ingredients:
8-10 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
2-3 vegetable oil
2-3 tbsp. sour cream
water

Directions:
Mince garlic or press thru a garlic press  into a small bowl. Add salt and mix it together with a wooden spoon works best. Using a whisk, mix in the oil in small streams, whisking after each addition until becomes creamy.

Add sour cream and stir together; add enough water to make it into thin sauce or until you reach the desire consistency.

Serve with fish, barbequed chicken or Cornmeal, (Mamaliga, the Romanian traditional food)


Leia’s Culinary Treasures