Mămăligă cu Brânză, Smântână și Ou Ochi
(muh-muh-LEE-guh koo BRUN-zuh, smun-TUN-uh shee oh-w OH-kee)
Mămăligă Suppers (Polenta, Pork & Skillets)
This isn't a delicate ritual that keeps you chained to the stove, but a fast supper where you whisk yellow cornmeal into salted water, slide an egg out of a cast-iron skillet, and build a bowl of “MBS” (mămăligă, brânză, smântână) in twenty minutes. You don't need to hunt down imported sheep's cheese to achieve the grassy bite of the original; a block of high-quality feta and some loosened sour cream replicate that tang. Break the yolk, stir the cold sour cream into the hot cornmeal, and eat.
Ingredients
- water4 cup
- kosher salt1 1/2 tsp
- medium-grind yellow cornmeal1 1/2 cup
- unsalted butter2 tbsp
- sheep's milk feta cheese8 oz
- full-fat sour cream1 cup
- large eggs4 large
- unsalted butter1 tbsp
- black pepper1 pinch
Method
- 01
Bring the water to a rolling boil.
Place a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat with the water and salt.
- 02
Make it rain.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Take a balloon whisk in your dominant hand and pour the cornmeal into the water in a very slow, steady, fine stream while whisking constantly to prevent lumps.
- 03
Simmer and stir.
Switch to a sturdy wooden spoon and turn the heat down to the absolute minimum. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring vigorously every couple of minutes to scrape the bottom, until the porridge is thick and pulls cleanly from the sides.
- 04
Finish the mămăligă.
Remove the pot from the heat, drop in the two tablespoons of butter, and stir vigorously until absorbed. Press the mămăligă down into a smooth dome with the back of a wet spoon and let it rest for a few minutes.
- 05
Fry the eggs.
While the porridge sets, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat and fry the eggs sunny-side up until the whites are crispy at the edges and the yolks remain runny.
- 06
Layer and serve.
Spoon a hot layer of mămăligă into shallow bowls. Immediately top with a generous crumble of feta so it begins to melt, followed by another spoonful of mămăligă, a heavy dollop of the thinned sour cream, and a fried egg.
Notes
The thread cut.
If you let leftover mămăligă set on a wooden board, never use a knife to cut it—the blade will stick and tear the starches. Slide a piece of clean sewing thread under the dome, cross the ends over the top, and pull to create perfectly clean slices.
The boiling trick.
To know exactly when your water is ready for the cornmeal, throw a single pinch into the heating pot. When those grains start dancing, you're at a true rolling boil.
From Cook Romanian in America.