Let me tell you: on Christmas, by father’s mother, my grandmother, used to make these “turtele” which my mother took over (I’m so going to get if I don’t remember the story of these cakes made from flour, sour cream and butter, glazed with egg, sugar and walnuts). These small cakes have been in our family and perhaps in other families as well, as my grandmother wasn’t their inventor for sure, but let me be honest, I haven’t seen them elsewhere. Neither on the market. Consequently, in my mind, they’re linked to Christmas, next to the memories with cozonaci (Romanian sweet bread) with walnuts and poppy seeds, the the overly decorated Christmas tree (my father has this habit), the various steaks accompanied by sweet compotes and other good things which become even better as they’re made once a year.
I’m giving you their recipe (it’s even better if you already have it) and I’ll tell you another thing: my story with the wines that can be found at Clubul Cavalerilor hasn’t stopped. On the contrary. This time, the indulging ambassador is a rosé Terra Romana wine from this year. I could say that this wine is a type of je-ne-sais-quoi, potent but gentle at the same time, with rough traits but full of tenderness. This is what it inspires me. And it also inspires trust. And because it makes me think about the good things, I’ve decided to pair it with this Christmas dessert (although it’s not necessarily a dessert wine, it’s good with turkey, for example, but I have other plans with turkey these days and I have another bottle of wine). Therefore, it will make room on the box with Christmas memories which I will open next year.
Let me tell you about the “turtele”: for a full bowl, you need three measuring cups of flour (we measure with a cup and it the result is 750 grams) and a measuring cup of butter. That’s 250 grams. Mix the butter with the flour, add a pinch of salt, five tablespoons of sugar, two eggs, a large pack of baking powder, grated zest from one lemon, two tablespoons of sour cream. Knead well.
The dough should be slightly elastic, it shouldn’t pour and it should allow stretching in a sheet. If it’s too hard, you can add another tablespoon of sour cream while kneading. Kneading it for ten minutes is enough. Leave it to rest for another ten.
While the dough rests, you can explore the depths of the wine. You’ll enjoy it. Even if you’ll have a hard time breaking away from the wine, you have to, as the small cookies won’t cut themselves. You have to cut them, with a ring, from the sheet that is stretched on the table and which is no thicker and no thinner than 1 centimeter. Dip the “turtele” into whipped egg whites (just one side), then dip them into ground walnuts mixed with sugar (with the same side). Put them on a tray, on parchment paper, with the walnut side facing up. Then put the tray into the (pre-heated) oven for 20-25 minutes, at 170-180 degrees Celsius.
Then get back to studying the wine.
Stay healthy!
Special thanks to
Oana Bodnariuc, Authorized Translator
oana.bodnariuc@gmail.com
facebook.com/oana.bodnariuc