Tocanita Cuiperci (Mushroom Stew)

Tocanita Cuiperci is a Romanian dish, that my mother-in-law has often cooked. She likes to cook it to avoid eating too much meat. It is a simple dish served with either mamaliga or can be served with rice or mashed potatoes.

Mushroom Stew doesn’t take long to prep or cook and can be easily done in 30 minutes. The recipe asks for Zarzavat, which you can find on my blog. Since it is more common in Romania I do not expect you to have made Zarzavat in advance. You can easily substitute it with two tomatoes and two red bell peppers.

Tocanita Cuiperci Ingredients

Mushrooms: You can use any type of mushrooms. My family has used white or brown mushrooms and even some from the forest. (Do not gather random mushrooms for this, since some may look edible but are poisonous. Just buy from the store)

Onions: White or yellow onion work the best for this recipe, because they add more flavor to the dish and don’t get lost the mushroom flavor.

Zarzavat: You can find the recipe in my blog or you can just substitute it for 2 tomatoes and 2 red bell peppers.

Parsley: I recommend fresh parsley for this recipe, since it just taste much better and on top of that you will add more color to it.

Red Wine: My In-Laws make there own red wine, but you can buy any red wine for this and don’t use an expensive one. The wine gives it a distinctive flavor.

Tocanita Cuiperci (Mushroom Stew)

Print Recipe

Tocanita Cuiperci is a Romanian vegetarian mushroom sauce. It is eaten with mamaliga, mashed potatoes or rice and is a wonderful alternative, if you want to reduce your meat intake.

• Author: Jessica
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 portions 1x
• Category: European
• Method: Pan
• Cuisine: Romanian
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 kg white mushrooms
• 3 yellow onions
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 bush of parsley
• 150 ml vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1–2 tablespoon Zarzavat (or 2 tomatoes & 2 red bell peppers)
• 20 ml red wine

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Instructions

1. Wash your mushrooms to get rid of dirt and grit. Cut them into thin strips or tiny pieces.
2. Cut your onions into small cubes and peel your garlic cloves.
3. In a pot add your vegetable oil and heat it up. Add your onions and fry them until translucent. With a garlic press crush you garlic and add to the onions. Cook only for a minute.
4. Add mushrooms, salt, pepper and cook until mushrooms are tender. Add your Zarzavat and wine to the mix and cook for 15-20 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
5. The sauce is done, when there is no liquid left and no taste of alcohol. You will need to taste your sauce, because the salt content varies with Zarzavat.
6. Serve with mamaliga or rice.