Tochitură moldovenească
Moldovan pork stew
Pork and sausage braised in their own fat, with mămăligă, a fried egg and sheep's cheese
Illustration (AI)
Photo: Dave Proffer, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tochitură is a dish of diced pork, smoked sausage and sometimes liver, slowly fried and braised in its own fat. The Moldovan version comes to the table with mămăligă, a fried egg and crumbled sheep's cheese. On both sides of the Prut it is regarded as typically Moldovan; Transylvania and other Romanian regions have their own versions.
Origins and history
The name is linked to the verb a topi, to melt: the meat cooks in its own melted fat. According to a report by the Romanian channel Observator, tochitură began as a meal at the winter pig slaughter, when people ate mămăligă with stewed bacon. Later, lean pork took the place of the bacon. Tochitură moldovenească is the best-known regional version; Transylvania, Oltenia, Muntenia and Dobruja each have their own recipe, sometimes with beef, lamb or chicken.
What goes into it
The base is pork with a little fat, such as neck, shoulder or leg, in cubes of three to four centimetres. Added to this are smoked sausage and often pig's liver, sometimes heart or kidney too. The meat goes into a hot cast-iron pan without extra fat, browns on all sides and then carries on braising over a low heat, without water. A splash of dry white wine loosens the browned bits and evaporates. Garlic only goes in during the last few minutes, the liver no more than ten minutes before serving. Restaurants often add a little tomato, but purists consider that less traditional.
Where and how to try it
Tochitură moldovenească is a fixture on the menus of restaurants serving Moldovan food, usually served on a large plate or in an earthenware dish. The classic plate consists of a mound of mămăligă with the meat beside it, a fried egg on top and a generous crumbling of brânză, telemea or caș over it all. Pickled cucumbers cut through the fat. It is a heavy dish for cold days, and a glass of dry red wine goes well with it.
Tochitură moldovenească
Ingredients
Method
- Heat a cast-iron casserole without any fat. Brown the pork in two batches over a medium-high heat on all sides, about 10 minutes.
- Add the sausage, sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper and fry for another 5 minutes.
- Deglaze with the white wine, scrape up the browned bits and let the wine evaporate.
- Turn the heat down low, half cover and braise for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not add water; turn the heat down if the meat starts to catch.
- Add the liver and garlic and cook for another 8 minutes; the liver may still be slightly pink inside.
- Meanwhile fry the eggs. Serve the meat with mămăligă, a fried egg and crumbled cheese, with pickled cucumbers on the side.
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