Radio România Internațional

Tag: Lamb Stew

  • Lamb dishes

    Lamb dishes

    At this time of the year Romanian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, the week beginning with the Christian feasts of Easter and culminating with Easter Sunday. On this occasion households are filled with the smell of painted eggs, freshly baked pound cake and most of all lamb-based dishes.



    Alongside lamb dishes and pound cake, the “Pasca”, a sweet cheese Easter cake is a ubiquitous dessert at the Easter table, once Eastern Lent is broken and eating cheese and eggs is once again allowed by the faithful. For most Romanians it is the smell and taste of Easter.



    There are various traditional recipes for cooking lamb, whether with tarragon and lemon in the Caransebes region, with rosemary and tomato sauce in Bihor, seasoned with thyme in Cluj, baked with cheese gravy like in Mehedinti county, or wrapped in pastry as in Cisnadie. Other Romanian householders choose to cook sour lamb soup with vegetables, spring onion lamb stew or minced lamb pie and entrails.



    For our lamb recipe today, we picked, however, a dish from Eastern Romania: lamb in yogurt sauce. Aside from lamb, you will need half a kilo of full-fat yogurt, one tablespoon of flour, 80 g of butter, one bunch of fresh cut dill, salt and pepper. Wash the lamb chops or fillets and portion them. Brown them in butter until they gain a deep golden brown crust. Add hot water or meat stock and let it simmer over low heat until the meat is nearly cooked. Meanwhile, expand the flour in yogurt and stir briskly, adding some of the melted fat from the pot and an extra two tablespoons of stock as an option. Add the dill, season with salt and pepper and pour the resulting mix over the lamb chops. Leave it to boil until the sauce reduces to the desired thickness. Serve with homemade bread, lettuce, radishes, spring onion or spring garlic. Enjoy! Poftă bună!


  • Traditional Easter dishes

    Traditional Easter dishes

    In todays edition of the Cooking Show we bring you recipes for lamb soup, a dish usually served at Easter, and lamb stew with spring onion and garlic.



    For the lamb soup, you will need one lamb head, the thighbones, its neck and tail. In addition, you will need 2 medium-sized carrots, one parsnip, one cup of rice, one bunch of spring onion, pepper and salt to taste, one egg yolk, one cup of sour cream and two bunches of fresh lovage.



    Boil the lamb parts in a pot with 6 liters of water and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Add the finely chopped vegetables and leave to boil over a low heat for approximately an hour. Add the rice and leave to boil for an additional quarter an hour. A very popular souring agent, widely used in Romanian cuisine, is fermented wheat bran. In the end add the liquid obtained by fermenting wheat bran and leave to boil for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and salt to taste. Mix well the egg yolk with the sour cream as you would a dressing and serve hot with freshly chopped lovage leaves.



    The so-called “stufat”, a delicate spring lamb stew, is very popular in the period right after Easter in Romania and all over the Balkans. You can make it with either leg of lamb or lamb ribs, about a kilos worth. It doesnt take much to make the recipe. All you need on top of that is five tomatoes, about 15 sprigs of spring onion and another 15 of green spring garlic. Cut the onion and garlic into segments about an inch long.



    In a pan heat some oil, and cook the meat on all sides at low heat, turning it periodically. Set the meat aside, then, in the same oil, sweat the pieces of onion and garlic. Also, cut the tomatoes into little cubes. Now take a covered deep oven dish and mix inside the lamb, onions and garlic, as well as the tomatoes. In some versions, a bit of flour is added to the mixture to thicken the sauce. Top with a bit of water, then set in the oven at medium heat for about half an hour. Take out the vessel and throw in a glass of wine, as well as salt and pepper to taste, then leave to cook in the oven for about another quarter of an hour. It is a recipe as simple as it is delicious.



    Poftă bună! Enjoy!


  • Lamb dishes

    Lamb dishes

    At this time of the year Romanian Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, the week beginning with the Christian feasts of Easter and culminating with Easter Sunday. On this occasion households are filled with the smell of painted eggs, freshly baked pound cake and most of all lamb-based dishes.



    Alongside lamb dishes and pound cake, the “Pasca”, a sweet cheese Easter cake is a ubiquitous dessert at the Easter table, once Eastern Lent is broken and eating cheese and eggs is once again allowed by the faithful. For most Romanians it is the smell and taste of Easter.



    There are various traditional recipes for cooking lamb, whether with tarragon and lemon in the Caransebes region, with rosemary and tomato sauce in Bihor, seasoned with thyme in Cluj, baked with cheese gravy like in Mehedinti county, or wrapped in pastry as in Cisnadie. Other Romanian householders choose to cook sour lamb soup with vegetables, spring onion lamb stew or minced lamb pie and entrails.



    For our lamb recipe today, we picked, however, a dish from Eastern Romania: lamb in yogurt sauce. Aside from lamb, you will need half a kilo of full-fat yogurt, one tablespoon of flour, 80 g of butter, one bunch of fresh cut dill, salt and pepper. Wash the lamb chops or fillets and portion them. Brown them in butter until they gain a deep golden brown crust. Add hot water or meat stock and let it simmer over low heat until the meat is nearly cooked. Meanwhile, expand the flour in yogurt and stir briskly, adding some of the melted fat from the pot and an extra two tablespoons of stock as an option. Add the dill, season with salt and pepper and pour the resulting mix over the lamb chops. Leave it to boil until the sauce reduces to the desired thickness. Serve with homemade bread, lettuce, radishes, spring onion or spring garlic. Enjoy! Poftă bună!


  • Lamb Stew

    Lamb Stew

    In Romania the so-called “stufat” is a delicate dish. You can make it with either legs of lamb or lamb ribs, about a kilo’s worth for 4 to 6 portions. All you need in addition are about 20 sprigs of spring onion, another 20 of sprigs of garlic and 5 or 6 medium-sized tomatoes.



    Heat some oil in a pan and cook the lamb on all sides at low heat. Add the pieces of onion and garlic and sweat for a few minutes. Set aside the mixture and cut the tomatoes into little cubes. Take a covered deep oven dish and mix inside the lamb, onions and garlic, as well as the tomatoes. In some versions, a bit of flour is added to the mixture to thicken the sauce.



    Top with a bit of water, then set in the oven at medium heat for about half an hour. Take out the vessel and add a glass of wine, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Leave to cook in the oven for about another quarter of an hour. It is a recipe both simple and delicious. Enjoy!