I didn’t know about it till I got in Crit. Originally Saxon, it was quikly assimilated by everyone, wining the test of time through history. This is the local traditional desert for all hollidays and feasts in the region. As simple as it sounds, it surprise you with the combination of textures and flavours.
My neighbour Domnica, actually called Buni, taught me with great passion what I need to know about making a great lichiu. So here it is :
1. Make a milk and semolina (pap) composition from 1 ½ l milk cooked with semolina, lemon zest and sugar to a sweet not to liquid but not to hard composition. This was once a popular dish for kids in Transylvania, like oatmeal was in the States. Of course you can’t ask for measures here, just tasted, and see it does not have lumps. Let it cool well.
2. Make a sweet dough (cozonac) from 1 kg flour, 2 yolks, one egg, 150 g sugar, 1 lemon zest, 100 ml oil (not olive oil), 50 g fresh yeast, salt and milk as much as it takes for a soft, dough. Let it rise till it double its volume.
3. Prepare a composition from 5 yolks mixed with 800 g sour cream.
5. Take 6-8 stalks of rhubarb, clean them from the hard out side layer and cut them in 1 cm segments.
4. Oil 3-4 large trays and put a 6-8 mm layer of the dough on the bottom of each of them, add a 1 cm layer of the semolina compozition and a layer of the sour cream composition. On top of these last layer spread the rhubarb (not to many). Bake on 180 Celsius till it starts to nicely brown on the top.
When still warm serve it with vanilla flavoured (this is important) caster sugar. Bonne appétit!