Bulz - Grilled Polenta Stuffed with Cheese
Budget Recipes Cheese Grilling Recipes Romanian
We craved bulz, so on the weekend we went to Bran to satisfy our craving. I bought burduf cheese from there so I could treat you to this traditional Romanian dish. I can't make it at home in an ember jar, but I improvised like this: I gave it a cylindrical shape instead of a ball, so there's more surface in contact with the grill pan and more crust forms, and I placed slices of smoked meat around them so the bulz would take on some of its flavor too.
Ingredients
1 cup cornmeal (200g)
4 cups water (1 liter)
30g butter
1 teaspoon salt
200g burduf cheese (sheep cheese aged in sheep stomach)
a little oil for greasing
Pieces: 5
How to prepare bulz - grilled polenta stuffed with cheese
- Prepare a simple polenta: add cold water to a pot and pour the cornmeal over it. Add the salt and butter and stir well to dissolve the flour in the water. Cook on medium heat, stirring slowly. When the polenta starts to thicken (it will start to splatter) turn the heat to low and stir more frequently so it doesn't stick to the bottom (it will be ready in maximum 10 minutes).
* if you start the polenta in cold water it won't form lumps! - Let the polenta rest for 5-10 minutes to cool down a bit. Meanwhile, crumble the burduf cheese and knead it a bit. Especially if you've kept it cold in the refrigerator, it needs the warmth of your hands to warm up a bit so you can form balls. If the cheese is very dry and doesn't hold together, add 1 tablespoon of sour cream. Make 5 roughly equal balls from the cheese.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on the table. Put 2 good tablespoons of polenta in the center and place a cheese ball on it. Cover the ball with another 1 tablespoon of polenta. Lift the edges of the plastic wrap (like a pouch) and shape it into a round ball so the cheese ball is enclosed in polenta.
- If desired, place each bulz in a mold (a ceramic dish with straight sides or a pastry ring - I liked the latter best) and press it with your fingers so it settles well in the mold. Let them sit in the molds for 10 minutes. The polenta will cool and take the desired shape. Then remove the bulz from the molds.
- Brush the bulz with oil on all sides.
- Heat the grill pan (without fat) for 5 minutes, on maximum heat.
- Place the bulz in the pan and fry them for 5 minutes per side (until they get a golden crust). Around them place slices of ham/bacon/sausages (I used slices of country-style smoked tenderloin) which you remove when they're golden and crispy (they'll be done faster than the bulz). If some cheese oozes out of the bulz it's fine, it will cook on the grill and they'll taste even better.
- Bulz is served hot, with slices of smoked meat made on the grill and a fried egg, or simply, just with sour cream.
Burduf cheese (sheep's cheese aged in sheep's stomach)
Ball of cheese on polenta
Shape the bulz
Press the bulz in a ring mold
Press the bulz in a ceramic dish
The bulz removed from the mold
On the grill
