Tocanita means stew. It’s a very common dish in the Romanian cuisine, the base of the stew is shallow fried onions with tomatoes. There is an array of veggies that can be used on top of that base, like: pea, potatoes, parsnip, cauliflower, carrots, beans, spinach. The spices traditionally used are dill, salt and pepper.
The stew can be served with bread or polenta, like I did.
Pea stew and polenta fried dumplings.
Ingredients for 4 servings of Pea stew – Tocanita de mazare:
– 2 cans of peas
– 1 can of plum tomatoes
– 300g chopped onions
– 20g tomato puree
– 2 spoons of oil
Crush the tomatoes with a fork on a plate. It’s better to leave some bigger pieces, to give a little bit of texture.In a saucepan heat the 2 spoons of oil. Add the chopped onions and leave them to sweat. Stir frequently as they might burn. Keep them on the hob until the onions are soft and translucent but not brown.
Add the tomatoes and stir. Leave them for a couple of minutes and don’t forget to stir once in a while. Meanwhile drain the peas. I always keep them for a few minutes in the sieve, to make sure I drain them well.
Add the peas and stir the stew. Leave them for 5-10 minutes and add the spices. Stir again.
