Romanian Pies (plăcinte) with Irina Georgescu

Online Cooking Class with Irina Georgescu

Our Romanian cooking series with Irina Georgescu continues!

There’s nothing more Romanian than the pies called plăcinte. Prized as an easy-to-eat, satisfying street food staple, plăcinte also take different forms across the country.

Together with author Irina Georgescu, you will bake one of the most popular plăcinte: Romanian apple pie.

It features a not-too-sweet filling studded with raisins and walnuts that allows the apples to take centre stage. You’ll learn how to make a supple and easy-to-make dough that uses a secret ingredient (hint: it’s sour cream) to guarantee a delicious and traditional pie.

While this is in the oven, we’ll make a savoury cheese pastry from Dobrogea in south-eastern Romania, called șuberec. You will learn about the rich ethnic diversity of this region in Romania, and the variations of this iconic pastry. If you can resist eating them as soon as they’re done, Irina will also teach you a quick cabbage slaw with a refreshing dressing that pairs perfectly with the rich, cheesy pastry.

In this course, you will make:

Apple pie, plăcintă cu mere

Fried cheese pie, șuberec

Cabbage salad, salată de varză

The menu is for 4 people. The dishes are vegetarian but not dairy and gluten-free. Duration: 90 minutes.

Course fee: $30 (Please scroll down to pay)

Register HERE

After you register and pay, you will receive the recipes so you can be ready for your culinary and cultural adventure with Irina!

More cooking courses added here!

This course series is organized by ARCS with support from ARCS Arizona and ARCS Detroit.

Irina Georgescu

Irina Georgescu is a UK food writer and author from Romania, whose work draws on her Eastern European heritage. She writes with integrity and respesct towards this rich heritage, and constantly raises the profile of Romanian culinary identity, bringing forward traditions and realities little known outside of her country.

Her first book, ‘Carpathia, food from the heart of Romania’ was shortlisted by the UK Guild of Food Writers for the Best International Cookbook Award, while its German translation was awarded a Silver Feather by the German Culinary Academy. The book was also translated into Hungarian and Dutch. Her second book, ‘Tava, Eastern European Baking and Desserts from Romania and Beyond’ is a meticulously researched baking book celebrating centuries of diversity and overlapping cultures that form today’s cuisine in Romania. A German translation is due in February 2023.