Radio România Internațional

Tag: cooking

  • Tourist assets in Buzau county

    Tourist assets in Buzau county

    Buzau County is renowned because of its
    tourist assets, but mostly because of its wine cellars. Slow Food Travel offers
    a new model of tourism, made of encounters with farmers, cheese makers,
    shepherds, bakers and vine growers who, jointly with the cooks who cook their
    produce, will be the narrators of their local areas and sole guides for the
    local traditions. Our guide for today’s journey is Thorsten Kirschner, a founding
    member of Buzau Slow Food Community, the realm of legends and savors. Thorsten
    arrived in Romania 13 years ago. He spent two years in Bucharest, then he
    retired to Buzau. There he bought a mansion and founded an association
    promoting traditional craft produce.

    Thorsten Kirschner:

    Slow food is a global
    movement that has been gaining ground in more than 160 countries, providing
    access to healthy food. It is an alternative to fast-food, created in Italy in
    the 1980s. As we speak, it is very active in Transylvania, in Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj, and Buzău. We’re more like an NGO, bringing
    together farmers, food producers, agro-tourism guesthouses, restaurants and
    lovers of healthy and sustainable food. The idea we have come up with what that
    of creating a platform for the promotion of craft products, of the quality food
    in Buzau County. To give you an example of that, we have a honey producer with
    an innovative technology. He mixes fresh fruit into the honey and creates a new
    produce you can have for breakfast. Tourists
    can also find the produce in the souvenir shop and can thus go back home with
    something new. Furthermore, we also have craft beer. We have a young entrepreneur
    who started up with mead. It is a honey-based beverage, with a low percentage of
    alcohol.


    The Buzau Land Geopark has
    been a UNESCO site since 2022. It comprises 18 communes, with 40,000 inhabitants
    and lots of tourist assets, one-of-a-kind around the world. As for the visit to
    the tourist assets, that can be combined with gastronomic experiences, says the
    founding member of Slow Food Community Buzău, Thorsten
    Kirschner.


    For instance, the tourist
    arrives in the commune of Berca and finds himself in front of the tourist info
    center. There he can find out what he can visit in the Buzau land. He can go to the Muddy Volcanoes or to the cave
    settlements in Bozioru and after that, the tourist can have a stopover at a guesthouse,
    a restaurant or a local producer where he can have a tasting of this and that. We
    for instance, offer cheese tasting as well. We make goat cheese made of raw
    milk, which best goes with a Dealu mare sort of wine, for tasting. It is a network,
    basically. We do not promote our products alone. Also, in the area we have growers
    of bio wine. You can go to them, you can visit their cellars, you can see for
    yourself how the wine is made and then a tasting follows, of three wine sorts. Another
    event we stage in Buzău is the truffle hunting. We go into the forest with
    specially trained dogs, we look for truffles, and, on our way back, we have an
    all-truffle tasting menu.


    Slow Food Buzău targets
    anxious and responsible travellers who are eager to know for real the Buzau
    area’s local cuisine culture, without overlooking food sustainability and
    biodiversity. For instance, after one such trip, you can get to know the Babik
    and its story. It is a spicy salami, presented as one of the best salamis according
    to the TasteAtlas, and being 15th-placed according
    to a world ranking. You can also find the
    babik on a traditional produce map, created by Thorsten
    Kirschner.


    You can access our platform at slowfoodbuzau.com, in Romanian and
    English. There you can get all the info on local producers, restaurants and tourist
    guesthouses, in Romanian and English. You can find all the info you need about
    local producers, about restaurants and tourist guesthouses that are part of our
    network. We also have a visiting hours schedule. Our work on the platform is
    still in progress and we hope that, until the nest season, in 2024, we can have
    a much more generous offer.


    An event in the area has come to an end, recently.
    It was a celebration of good food, being also an excellent opportunity to socialize,
    for the participants. Also presented as part of the event were the most recent
    rural and adventure tourism offers.

    Thorsten Kirschner:

    We staged the third edition
    of the events titled the Craftsmen’s Market. It is an innovative concept, by
    means of which we get the consumer come closer to the farmers and the local
    food producers in the Buzau Land UNESCO Geopark
    It is Romania’s first such project by means of which the small local producers
    and tourism services providers collaborate, in a bid to create such a fair. For
    example, all the stands were made from recycled material. We call all the
    producers, urging them to collect woos and we worked on the stands. In two days
    alone, we had more than 2,000 visitors from all over Romania. It is a mix of a
    craft and farm produce, street-food, live cooking
    show, a craftsmen fair and creative and educational workshops for children. The
    feedback-ul we had was a very good one. It is a festival-fair, staged with the
    purpose of socialization. Foreign tourists came as well. 90% of them were surprised and said they did not know
    what they would come across in Buzau. They only heard about the Muddy Volcanoes
    but they did not know anything about Geopark, about the culinary offer. So
    promotion has not been efficient enough, just as yet. We, through the slow-food,
    provided some sort of marketing through collaboration, with no budget whatsoever.
    We did everything through the socializing platforms. Those who participated
    shared their experience and that is how we managed to have 300,000 views a
    week.


    You may not have reached the craftsmen’s annual event, yet socializing
    opportunities do exist. The founding member of Buzau Slow Food Community Buzău,
    Thorsten Kirschner, says that, if you schedule a visit
    to the UNESCO Buzau Land Geopark, you can have the chance to find the legends
    of the people, of the culinary recipes, but also those of the numerous tourist
    assets in the region.


    Apart from the Muddy Volcanoes we’re all
    too familiar with, we have cave settlements, a salt mountain, the Amber Museum,
    we have old monasteries. Then there is also an offer for active tourism, such
    as rafting or cycling with electric bikes. Also, we have two interesting areas.
    In Dealu Mare there are interesting wine cellars and there also is this slow
    food network, comprising producers of craft beer of honey. You can have a taste
    of the produce and you can take them home.


    One of the targets the Slow
    Food movement has set for itself is that of preventing cultures and traditions
    from disappearing. Furthermore, opting for that kind of tourism also means we can
    enhance the interest in the food we eat, in its origin and in the way our food
    choice impacts the world around us.

  • Vegetables preserved in vinegar

    Vegetables preserved in vinegar

    We are in the season when plenty of Romanians get ready for winter by preparing pickles, jam and stewed fruit. Cucumbers and red peppers preserved in vinegar are the most common pickles you’ll find in Romanians’ pantries. Preserving red peppers is also common in other European states. For instance one type of red pepper pickles consists in red cherry pepperoni, the size of a chestnut, preserved in sweetened vinegar, which are usually stuffed with high-fat cheese.



    The red peppers you’ll find in Romania are bigger in size, and they can be filled with many other ingredients besides cheese, such as white or red cabbage or cauliflower. Red peppers can be preserved either in a solution of brine just like the green tomatoes and sauerkraut or in vinegar.



    Here is next the recipe for red peppers filled with cabbage. You’ll need 5 kilograms of red peppers, 1 or 2 white cabbages, 2 big celery roots, 1 kilogram of carrots, 1 litre of vinegar and a little oil, pepper grains, a few bay leaves, a couple of spoonfuls of honey and a little salt. After washing the peppers, carefully remove their stem, their core, and any leftover seeds. Cut the cabbage thinly, then grate the carrots and the celery root. Mix all these vegetables in a bowl with a little oil and pepper grains. Fill the peppers with this mixture then place them in jars.



    Make a mixture of water and vinegar, around 2.5 litres of water for one litre of vinegar, boil this mixture adding one spoonful of salt and one spoonful of honey or sugar for each litre of water and a couple of bay leaves. After boiling, pour the liquid mixture over the peppers filling the jars, and cover with cellophane, sealing with rubber bands or string.



    Pickled peppers can be eaten after one week as salad on the side of meat dishes. Similarly peppers can be filled with cauliflower florets. The most common method of preserving red peppers is to cut them into 4 or 6 slices and then preserve them in vinegar as explained above.



    Cucumbers can also be preserved in vinegar like the red peppers. In the jars, besides cucumbers you can place small sized onions or slices of onion, mustard seeds, dried dill and slices of horseradish. Use the same mixture of water, vinegar and sugar or honey. Enjoy! (translation by L. Simion)

  • Dishes in Marginimea Sibiului

    Dishes in Marginimea Sibiului

    The ceremony for granting this award, previously held by 7 regions in Europe, involved a culinary demonstration by 50 chefs, who prepared special meals for cadets with the Academy of Land Forces in the city of Sibiu. A national chain of stores had promotions dedicated to this event, selling locally made products. Representatives from the organization that granted the award, as well as representatives from other European regions granted the award, were invited to Sibiu to visit the county of the same name and take part in culinary events. Members of the local consortium who hold this year the event to promote Sibiu as a European Gastronomical Region plan to launch the concept of Sibiu local cuisine under the name of “Shepherd Cuisine.



    Shepherding is the traditional occupation for the inhabitants of the 18 Romanian and Saxon villages around Marginimea Sibiului, a tourist destination where we find many traditional households that are ready for hosting guests. The Romanian villages in Marginimea Sibiului have a rich food tradition with dairy and mutton as staples. One of them is the so-called ‘bulz’, which is sharp cured cheese covered in polenta. It is often cooked on a charcoal grill. To make bulz, you ideally would make a sturdy polenta out of traditionally milled maize. The balls of polenta with cheese are cooked on the grill until the crust starts cracking. They are then covered in sour cream. One other version is to cover the bulz in raw clay, and then set it right in the fire to cook. Speaking of covering in clay for cooking, the locals have a tradition of cooking an entire sheep covered in a layer of clay.



    One traditional dish from Marginimea Sibiului that drew our attention is a Saxon dish, a veal stew. If you happen to stay at a B&B in Marginimea Sibiului and you catch a day with nice weather, you may have the pleasant surprise of witnessing the host cooking this veal stew over an open fire in a Dutch oven. To make this at home, first take a few onions, peel and chop them finely. Sweat the onion in oil. Cube the veal in small chunks, place it in the Dutch oven, and add water to cover, then start simmering it. Slice two green peppers finely, finely cube 2 or 3 tomatoes, mince a few cloves of garlic, and add them to the preparation. When it is almost cooked, add a bay leaf, a cup of red wine, and salt to taste. The stew is served hot, with a side of polenta, and a glass of fine wine. Enjoy!

  • Pumpkin Time

    Pumpkin Time


    Pumpkin is a ubiquitous ingredient in European cooking, from Scandinavia to the Balkans, and Romania is no exception. Around October and November, farmer’s markets fill with all the varieties of shapes, sizes and colors pumpkins come in. Recently, as the Romanian market opened up to the world gradually over the last two decades, you can see new varieties being introduced, such as varieties of squash. Larger varieties are even used as containers in which cabbage rolls are cooked. After cutting out the top part and seeding the pumpkin, lay in cabbage leaves and add the pre-cooked cabbage rolls. Cover with another layer of cabbage leaves, then put the pumpkin in the oven, cooking for another hour over low heat.



    Irrespective of what they look like, edible pumpkins and squashes are consumed with relish by Romanians, who use it mostly to make desserts. The simplest way to prepare pumpkin, widely used all over the country, is to simply cut the pumpkin into slices, cleaning out the gunk and seeds, and to bake it into the oven.



    However, a very popular autumn dessert is pumpkin pie, which is very different from the hugely popular American recipe, resembling a Viennese strudel. Most people use store bought thick pastry sheets, but you can make your own, even though they are laborious. Peel and seed the pumpkin, then shred it on the large gauge shredder. Either put it in a strainer, allowing it to drip out the juices, or melt butter in a large pan and sweat it until soft, and until the juice reduces and it becomes sticky. Use a large shallow oven dish for the pie, preferably buttered. Lay a sheet of dough on the bottom, then a layer of pumpkin, and on top another layer. You can add more layers if you want. Make sure you pierce the top layer with a fork to allow steam to escape and not ruin the pie. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes on moderate, sprinkling powder sugar on top. Enjoy!

  • The Art and Magic of Cooking in 18th Century

    The Art and Magic of Cooking in 18th Century

    The magical dimension of spices, and culinary art secrets were present in the Romanian late 18th Century and early 19th Century cuisine as well, and their presentation, especially when accompanied by a good storyline, makes a particularly interesting reading today. Doina Rusti writes historical fiction, and her latest book, “The Friday Cat, is about history, magic, collective mind-frames and culinary art at the turn of the 19th Century. As it usually happens, the book is rooted in Doina Rustis archive research.



    Doina Rusti “I found a document dating back to the rule of Constantin Hangerli, which mentioned a famous cook, who was so good that people fought over his services. He was a short Gypsy man, a slave owned by Ecaterina Greceanu. His name, according to the document, was Vasile sin Andreica, which means he was the son of Andreica, and born on the Greceanu estate, therefore rightfully owned by this family and impossible to displace. Nonetheless, Hangerli, a foreigner who had taken the throne only two months before, got hold of this cook and refused to let him go. Taking a slave away from his master was unprecedented, and Ecaterina Greceanu, who was an important person herself, started a trial over this. Hangerli brought in witnesses, who told the Metropolitan Bishop, who was trying the case, that the cook was treated very badly and was miserable with the Greceanu family. Hangerli claimed he had only meant to rescue the cook and that he was even willing to trade two other slaves for him.



    So what was so fabulous about the food cooked by this Vasile sin Andreica, to make the ruler of the country keep him at his palace and to have his former owner regret him enough to go to trial? There were many documents written about him, he was worth the price of two men, and the Metropolitan Bishop himself got involved in the dispute.



    Doina Rusti: “I started to think about the extraordinary dishes he might have cooked, about Ecaterina Greceanu who was left without a cook and was willing to raise money to get him back. And while I was thinking about it, I happened to meet an author who had just written a book on insects, and I remembered my youth, when I used to dive into medieval zoology books. This writers dilemma was this: although he had written a scientific book, he was thinking about including some recipes from naturalist Conrad Gessners writings. And I suddenly realized that many of those recipes were already in my grandmas kitchen. And that, in fact, everything that can be found in witchcraft books is not entirely unknown to regular people. This is how I began working on the list of recipes, called ‘The book of evil dishes that is the core of this book.



    The oldest Romanian cookbook is kept at the National Archives and dates back to the rule of Constantin Brancoveanu, in the early 18th Century. Doina Rusti browsed it and was inspired by the old Romanian cuisine.



    Doina Rusti: “Romanian cuisine has many interesting dishes, most of which are based on minced meat and nuts and honey for the sweet dishes. During the time of the Phanariot rule and the reign of Brancoveanu, minced meat balls were very popular. Crayfish balls, for example, used to be served sprinkled with plum vinegar or rose vinegar. Moussaka-type dishes were also very popular, and there was a tradition, which we still have, to cook stuffed chicken or duck, with the filling being in fact a kind of meat ball containing all kinds of spices. Meat would always be marinated in honey and cinnamon. Any type of steak would have a sweet ingredient added to it, whether honey or sugar. The mixture of sweet, sour and hot used to be a characteristic of Phanariot and Romanian cuisine.



    Doina Rustis character is based on herself, her readings and her own memories. The author thus becomes a narrator, a character, a historian, a witch and a culinary artist.



    Doina Rusti: “The main character is a woman who remembers an event that took place when she was young, a recollection reinforced by her cultural background. My intention was to create an educated protagonist who knew Latin and Old Greek, as I did when I was an adolescent. Using her knowledge, she learns magic, Sators magic, and, using her familys inheritance, writes a book of evil dishes that drives the people of Bucharest mad. The cook abducted by Costas, as Hangerli is named in the book, comes into the possession of that book and everything he cooks at the palace is also cooked by the people of Bucharest. Without knowing it, he bakes a rose cake that makes people laugh, but which turns into a disease and drives everybody mad. In this atmosphere of uncontrollable euphoria, all the recipes from the book of evil dishes start floating in the air.



    Doina Rustis book is about the encounter between science, fiction and magic.

  • Veal Stew Mountain Style

    Veal Stew Mountain Style

    This particular recipe was collected in the villages of the Apuseni Mountains, in the heart of Romania, and it is famous across the country. It is as simple as it is effective. It is a veal stew, and it is a hearty, though rather heavy, meal.



    What you need for this recipe is veal, of course, lots of onion and green pepper for the solids, and for the sauce you need sour cream, tomato paste, garlic and fresh parsley. If you want to make it like the mountain people do it, you will make this in a thick cauldron on an open fire or on a wood fired stove.



    However, if you dont want to go out in the wilderness for a hearty meal, you can simply use a larger pot at home, if you want to make this dish in the quantities that the mountain peasants do. For instance, in the original recipe, our host made this using no less than 10 large onions. Of course, since this is a simple recipe that does not require great precision for a great taste, you can simply match whatever quantities suit your taste.



    Start by chopping roughly the onion, then cutting the veal and the pepper into squares. Set them to sweating into the pot, on low heat, mixing regularly to ensure even cooking and prevent sticking. Separately make the sauce by mixing and bringing to a boil the sour cream, tomato paste, garlic and fresh parsley. Pour it into the stew pot, then leave the heat on for a few more minutes to have the tastes blend nicely.



    Enjoy with a thick slice of homemade bread, preferably right out of the oven.

  • Giblet Soup and Aspic

    Giblet Soup and Aspic

    Today’s show will once again be about the kind of dishes that Romanians enjoy more often around the holidays. This particular recipe is for a type of soup that is typically served on the first day of the year for lunch, as a fortifier after a night of partying. It is giblet soup, using bits and pieces of chicken such as heads, necks, feet and backs.



    Giblet soup is a rich brew that is best shared, hence the large quantities in the recipe. It takes a large pot, worth about 10 liters. Take about 2 kg of giblets, and let boil in 4 liters of water with a pinch of salt. Skim the stock, then add 2 or 3 onions, a few carrots, one parsnip and celeriac, all finely chopped. Bring to a boil, then add a cup of rice. The secret ingredient is sauerkraut juice, about 2 liters. Separately, beat two eggs with sour cream and a bit of the liquid, adding that to the soup. Add finely chopped lovage to garnish and add that special flavor that characterizes Romanian cooking. Enjoy!



    Another recipe typical of the holidays, and similar in preparation, is aspic. Aspic is made of chicken, goose, pork, veal and even fish stock, although fish has too little natural gelatin. For instance, to make chicken aspic you need 1 kg of wings and thighs as well as feet and heads, so that the aspic should jellify quicker. You also need 2 onions, 2 carrots, a head of garlic and several sprigs of green parsley.



    Boil the meat with the carrots and onions. Skim and leave to boil until the meat shreds off the bones. At the end add salt to taste. Take out the meat and bones and shred the meat in medium sized strips. Strain the liquid and pour it in a container and then add pressed garlic. In a bigger container or in several smaller bowls place, for decoration purposes, round slices of carrot, green parsley sprigs, thin slices of pickled red pepper and also the strips of meat. Then pour the chicken stock carefully and leave to cool, then place the container or bowls in the fridge for the jelly to congeal. The aspic is served the next day. Good luck and enjoy!

  • Zucchinis

    Zucchinis

    Domestically grown
    zucchinis are all the rage right now in farmer markets in Romania. It is a very
    popular ingredient, with loads of applications, which is why we will be
    bringing you today a few of them. We will also be looking at cooking them
    depending on size.


    In one version,
    you can peel and cube them, then boil in salted water. After that you can mix
    them into eggplant paste, Middle Eastern style. You can also use them to
    simulate meatballs you use for making a popular soup in Romania, by mixing them
    with cheese.


    The easier road
    you can take is that of frying them. Peel the zucchinis, and slice them into
    finger thick chunks. Sprinkle salt on them, then leave them to sweat a bit.
    Beat a couple of eggs with a bit of ground black pepper, then douse them in
    flour, then soak them in the beaten egg, then pan fry them. We recommend a
    garlic sauce, either water or yogurt based.


    One other, more
    involved recipe, is stuffed zucchini, a meat dish. Take 6 to 8 zucchinis, about
    half a kilogram of minced pork, a cup of rice, two onions, a bunch of fresh
    parsley, tomato juice, salt and pepper to taste. Peel the zucchinis and slice
    them in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to core them, and then fill them. To make
    the filling, chop finely the two onions, add the finely chopped parsley, with
    salt and pepper to taste. Put the filled zucchinis in the oven dish, then put
    in the dish tomato juice and water. Place in a low heat oven for about 20
    minutes, until the zucchinis are done. Serve with a yogurt or sour cream
    garnish. Enjoy!

  • Dishes from Moldova

    Dishes from Moldova


    Each of Romania’s historical provinces boasts a large array of specific products, some of them named after their place origin, such as wine. Moldavia, in northeastern Romania, has some of the largest vineyards in Romania. Famous wine brands are “Galbena de Odobesti” and “Sarba” whites, produced in the Vrancea region, the “Busuioaca de Bohotin” aromatic, produced in the town of Husi, or the “Grasa”, “Feteasca” and “Francusa” wines associated with the Cotnari vine estates near Iasi.



    And since we’re talking about Moldova, let us introduce you to some specific dishes in this region. A traditional breakfast here includes eggs and pork scraps, served with a variety of salty goat or sheep cheese, stored in special jars. At lunch locals usually have bean or potato ragout, stewed cabbage or bean sour soup. A local favourite is also the giblet soup, made from chicken entrails, and a stock of carrot, rice, onion and parsley, soured with homemade borsch. This is a dish people usually eat after a night of drinking and partying. Another popular dish is the so-called “poale-n brau”, a local variety of sweet cheese and raisin pastries, considered a local delicacy, and a staple of dessert, made from sourdough. To make them, roll the dough into sheets, which you then cut into squares, about 15 cm on the side. Spread out the filling of cheese mixed with dill and raisins on these squares, then bring the corners towards the centre. Leave them to bake until they turn a nice, golden colour.



    Today we bring you a recipe for another popular Moldavian dish — fried meat patties. This is usually made from ground pork or beef or a mixture of the two, about a kilo’s worth. You will also need three slices of bread, two medium-sized onions, 4 eggs, freshly copped dill, salt and pepper. Mix the mincemeat with the slices of bread, which you previously soaked in water and squeezed them. Add the finely chopped onion, the dill and salt and pepper to taste. Add two eggs and stir until you obtain a homogenous mixture. Form the mixture into palm-size patties. Dredge each patty in flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Fry patties on both sides in a large skillet on both sides. Serve with a side dish of mashed potatoes or bean ragout. And enjoy!

  • Mackerel

    Mackerel


    On March 25 Orthodox Romanians celebrate the Annunciation, when the church tradition allows fish to be eaten during Lent. This is a good opportunity for fishers to make good sales, because between April and June they cannot fish for fresh water fish. An exception is made for predatory fish, one of them being the mackerel. The mackerel is native to the Black Sea, but swims upriver to spawn, sometimes as much as 500 km. This is a highly prized catch, a tasty, oily fish between 200 and 600 grams, with an average mature length of around 30 cm. This fish can also be found in the Mediterranean, the North Sea and in coastal waters in North America. After spawning, the fish return to the sea, granted they escape fishing lines or nets.



    Mackerel can be prepared and preserved in various ways. It can be baked in the oven on a bed of vegetables. It can be pan fried with a side of sautéed mushrooms, or grilled, either on an open grill or a metal plate or sheet. However, if we were to go by popularity, by far the most sought after recipe is brined mackerel. To make that, start by scaling and gutting the fish, cleaning it carefully. Sprinkle them lavishly with rock salt and leave for at least half an hour. Wash off the salt, then make several slits in the sides of the fish. Proceed to grill the fish or cook it on a plate on the stovetop. While the fish is cooking, make the brine. Boil water with lots of salt. After bringing it to a boil, turn off the heat and mix in the crushed garlic, black pepper, thyme and sliced hot green chili. After the fish is well browned on both sides, put it in a deep dish and drown it in the brine, put on a tight lid, and leave for at least 20 minutes for the flavors to blend. When serving, garnish with fresh parsley with a side of polenta.



    You can also bake the mackerel in the oven, and it takes a special procedure. After making the slits, salt and pepper the fish, then slip inside it a bay leaf. Oil lightly a sheet of baking paper, then wrap the fish in it. Bake in the oven for about half an hour. Unwrap the fish, then squeeze over it a generous amount of lemon juice. This is usually served with a side dish of plain boiled potatoes and vegetables. It goes well with a chilled dry wine.

  • Transylvanian Smoked Meat Soup

    Transylvanian Smoked Meat Soup

    This week’s recipe is the Transylvanian soup with smoked meat, which has two versions, one with potatoes, one with cabbage. Its little secret is that of blanching the meat before using it in the soup, because, no matter what kind of smoked preparation we use, boiling it takes away part of its salt.



    For this recipe, take half a kg of smoked ribs, a few potatoes, two onions, two carrots, one piece of celery root, a parsnip, tarragon, vinegar, egg, and sour cream. Shred the smoked rib, and set it to boil, skimming the pot periodically. Add the potatoes, cubed, then the chopped onion, carrot, parsnip and celeriac. At the end put in tomato juice, the finely chopped tarragon, then, at the end, mix separately egg yolk with sour cream to finish the soup.



    If, however, you opt for the sauerkraut solution, then finely shred it and wash it to make it less salty. Use the sauerkraut liquid as a souring agent. You can use less vegetables, but the minimum is two chopped onions and a few garlic cloves. Separately, brown two tablespoons of flour, then add some water, and after it comes to a boil, pour it into the soup pot. Towards the end add the chopped garlic and either use the egg yolk-sour cream mixture or some buttermilk. Enjoy!

  • Zacusca

    Zacusca


    This preparation is a means of preserving large quantities of excess vegetables, making them available as a mixture throughout the winter. It is time consuming and makes very large quantities, but it is the traditional approach to preservation, dating back to a world before people ate off the shelves of a supermarket.



    The simplest recipe in this wide range involves 5 kg of eggplant (or aubergines), 5 kg of green or bell peppers, 2 kg of onion, one liter of tomato juice, one liter of vegetable oil, and is traditionally seasoned with peppercorns, bay leaves, and, of course, salt to taste.



    The first step is to roast the aubergines and peppers on a sheet of metal or straight on the open flame, but that takes time and is much messier. Separately, the finely sliced onion is sweated in the oil over low heat. Bring together all the cooked vegetables into a pot large enough to accommodate everything, with peppercorns and bay leaf. Simmer the mixture on low heat until it reduces to a paste thick enough to be spread on a slice of bread.



    Traditionally it is kept in the pantry in cellophane and string sealed glass jars. The jars have to be carefully sterilized before they are filled. After the hot ‘zacusca’ is put into jars, the jars have to be boiled themselves in a bath of water for 15 minutes for thorough sterilization.

  • Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

    Vegetarian Stuffed Cabbage

    These days, Romanian Orthodox Christians, who make up some 80% of the country, are, according to religious tradition, in the middle of Nativity Fast, when many of them observe the rules of fasting in Eastern Christianity. They abstain from meat, dairy, eggs, fish, oil and wine, before the days right after Christmas, when they can feast on traditional pork products.



    Of those traditional pork products, one of the definite musts in any home, in addition to sausage and aspic, to name just the obvious, is stuffed cabbage. Stuffed cabbage, in case you were still wondering, is sauerkraut leaves stuffed with a minced meat mixture, cooked in a closely packed pot. One cannot afford to underestimate the importance of stuffed cabbage (known as ‘sarmale’) in Romanian culture. For one thing, it is the staple food when Romanians break fast after the two most important fasting periods of the year, Lent and Nativity Fast. Skill in making them is a fundamental requirement for any traditional homemaker.



    Also, they are made slightly differently depending on the region. In the west and north of the country, where there are influences from Germany and Poland, each individual piece is huge, a course in itself. In the south and east they are medium sized. Only pickled cabbage leaves are used, and the space in between them when cooking is filled with shredded sauerkraut floating in a loose tomato sauce. The minced meat mixture has rice in it. The spice of choice is black pepper, the herbs of choice is dried thyme and bay leaves.



    However, you may ask what happens if the faithful get a craving for ‘sarmale’ during their fast. That is not a problem, as you may have guessed. The solution is rice, and if you want a richer filling, mushrooms.



    In order to make the vegetarian stuffed cabbage, you need leaves of pickled cabbage, stemmed, two cups of rice, rinsed and drained, two or three onions, two carrots, oil, tomato paste, peppercorns and ground pepper, two bay leaves, and salt to taste. Slice the onion thinly, sweat in oil, then add the rice and the carrot, which you have shredded finely.



    Here is the point at which you have a serious choice to make: to go savory or sweet. If you want to go savory, then add finely chopped mushrooms. However, the more creative and surprising choice is chopped dried fruit, such as raisins or prunes. Whichever choice you make, after you throw in the rice, add the tomato paste, ground pepper and salt to taste, stir well, and cook the rice.



    Wash well the cabbage leaves, then pack them carefully with the rice mixture, rolling them while tucking in the ends, like you would spring rolls. Lay them in a oven proof vessel, pour on top boiling water with tomato paste, peppercorns, a sprig of dry thyme, and the bay leaves. Cover everything with shredded sauerkraut. Put it in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the sauerkraut on top starts to brown nicely. Enjoy your meat free Romanian delicacy!