As Moldovan as Visine Placinte

In Moldova, placinte, or pies are quite popular fare. They are eaten several times a week, for lunch and for dinner. It is also not uncommon for them to be served as dessert. Stuffings include cherries, cheese, cabbage, apples and potatoes.

What are they like?

Unlike the pie you may be most familiar with, the filling in a placinta is completely enveloped by dough. It is not made in a pie pan and there is no crust. The fillings are rather rare compared to the dough. The thickness of the pastry dough varies from maker to maker. They can be as thin as the cover of a book or several centimeters thick. The cooking is done in pans, by frying in sunflower oil. This process creates the crispness and liveliness that is idiosyncratic to the Moldovan pie. There is nothing else quite like it.