Tochitură () is a traditional
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
and
Moldovan dish made from
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...
cut into small cubes, (tochitura comes from the verb "a topi" which means "melted slow fried meat in fat") cooked over low fire in its own fat and juices usually in a cast-iron pot. It is traditionally served with over-easy eggs and
mămăligă.
[Enache, D. ''Bucătăria unităților gastronomice'', Ed. Sport-Turism, București 1975] The ''tochitură moldovenească'' is the Moldavian version and the ''tochitură ardelenească'' is the Transylvanian version.
Tochitură is made in two main varieties: with or without tomato sauce and can be made from beef, lamb or chicken (depends on the area -
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...
,
Transilvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
,
Oltenia
Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
,
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in ...
,
Dobrogea
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
). To not be confused with a stew, the amount of tomato sauce should be minimal (and usually added at the end) so the meat will cook in its own juices. The version with tomato sauce is the most common and it is prepared in most restaurants, but is less "traditional". The one without it has a sauce of pork fat and juices from the parts of the meat. The traditional Romanian dish contains not only raw meat, but parts of internal organs of the animal, like liver, kidneys, heart, pork fat (
slănină
Salo or Slanina (Russian and Ukrainian: сало, Belarusian: сала, Hungarian: szalonna, Polish: słonina, ro, slănină, Czech and Slovak: slanina, Carpatho-Rusyn: солонина/solonyna, lt, lašiniai, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian: ...
) or bacon and smoked sausages fried together. It is served with mămăligă and a salty sheep cheese, either
telemea or
brânză de burduf
Brânză de burduf (also known as "Brânză frământată"[Brânza frământată](_blank)
at meat-milk.ro ...
.
See also
*
List of stews
This is a list of notable stews. A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (such as carrots, potatoes, be ...
*
Tocană
*
Notes and references
External links
Romanian stews
Moldovan dishes
{{moldova-stub