Recipe Box: Romanian crepes.
Gail Sweet of Menomonee Falls sent a number of old family recipes — her Aunt Lizzie’s home brew, her Mémère’s Gortons (French-Canadian pork spread), Grandma Hoerig’s — and Grandma Stoia’s — cheesecakes, Grandma Hoerig’s cream puffs and applesauce cake … and a recipe for something called placinta from Grandma Stoia. This one intrigued us for the simple reason that it’s continued to be loved by now a fifth generation. (It also shows how family recipes can evolve.)
“Seana Stoia was my husband’s grandmother,” Sweet wrote. “She was born in Romania in 1901 and immigrated to the U.S. when she was 19.
“Her own children, I believe, grew tired of her Romanian dishes, usually made frugally and without meat. But we of the next generation loved the traditional foods.
“My daughter-in-law makes a version of this dish, and my grandchildren love it. I’m always excited every summer when fresh dill comes in so I can make placinta.”
The original placinta (pronounced plah-CHEENteh) recipe called for 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, a bit of salt and 1⁄4 cup flour. The dough was kneaded, allowed to sit, kneaded again, formed into balls, which eventually were flattened, filled with cottage cheese and dill and fried — and served with sour cream.
Recipes for “placinta” and “clatite” appear together in an old Romanian cookbook that Sweet has from her mother-in-law, and they are similar. Both are translated into English as pancakes.
Sweet said her family has always used the term “clatite” (klah-TEE-teh).
“For my clatite, I cheat and use Bisquick,” Sweet wrote. “I follow their (Bisquick’s) recipe for pancakes but use 2 or 3 eggs instead of one” for a thinner batter.
“I spread it out on a Teflon-coated skillet and fry one side. When bubbles form, I flip it over and place in the center a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese and lots of fresh finely chopped dill, let it fry a while, then fold the pancake in on itself like a crepe or omelet.”
Her daughter-in-law, Katie Sweet, makes crepes from scratch but follows the same procedure.
“It’s gotten so her kids call crepes ‘clatite,’ ” she wrote. Seana Stoia made both clatite and placinta by deep-frying.
According to Sweet: “We’re trying to be a bit more healthy!”
That said, Seana Stoia lived to be 94. And her daughter, Lenora Sweet (Gail’s mother-in-law), died earlier this year at the age of 90. Here is Katie Sweet’s version of clatite. The basic crepe recipe is from “The Joy of Cooking.” “When I run out of dill, I make dessert crepes with Nutella and fruit spread,” Katie Sweet said.
Clatite Makes about 8 (6-inch) clatite
1⁄2 cup flour 1⁄2 cup milk 1⁄4 cup lukewarm water 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 tablespoon sugar Pinch of salt 1 carton (16 ounces) cottage cheese Fresh dill (the fresher, the better)
Whisk together flour, milk, water, eggs, butter, sugar and salt and let sit while heating a small (6-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. (You can use a bigger skillet for larger clatite if you wish.) Get out cottage cheese and finely chop the dill.
When pan is hot, coat lightly with vegetable oil spray. Pour a bit of batter into middle of pan and lift and rotate pan until batter is evenly spread out. After a couple minutes, flip with a flexible spatula. (First side should be nicely browned.) Immediately add about 3 tablespoons cottage cheese and as much dill as you can fit in (it should completely cover the cheese); fold in half. Cook until cheese starts to melt.