Radio România Internațional

Tag: meat jelly

  • Meat Jelly

    Meat Jelly

    Meat jelly or
    aspic is one of the specific dishes for the winter holidays in Romania, being a
    staple dish for the Christmas and the New Year festive dinner. Meat jelly is a
    traditional dish from Wallachia, in southern Romania, which used to be served
    also at the princely courts. Aspic is typically made of pork, chicken, goose,
    veal and even fish.

    For chicken aspic, you will need about one kilogram of
    wings, thighs, or both, as well as a few heads and feet to give it better coagulation.
    You also need two onions, two carrots, a head of garlic and a few sprigs of
    green parsley. Boil the chicken parts with the carrots and the onion. Skim the
    liquid once it boils, and leave to cook until the meat shreds off the bone. At
    the end add salt to taste. Take out all the meat and bones, and then shred the
    meat in medium sized strips. Strain the liquid, and then add to it the minced
    garlic. Take several small bowls which will make up the individual servings.
    Place in each bowl for decoration slices of carrot and sprigs of green parsley,
    and maybe slices of pickled bell pepper. Place some strips of meat in the bowl
    as well. Top the bowls with the chicken stock, which you have previously
    cooled, then place them in a very cold place or in the fridge. Serve the aspic
    the next day.


    Carp aspic is
    made in the same way. You need one piece of carp of 1 kg, 4 medium onions, two
    carrots, one parsley root, a head of garlic, a couple of peppercorns and two
    laurel leaves. Boil the finely chopped onions in salted water, then take out
    the onion and puree it. Boil in the same water the carrot and the parsley, the
    peppercorns and laurel leaves. After 20 minutes add the pieces of carp and
    after another 20 minutes remove the pot from heat. Strain the liquid and place
    it in a bowl, then mix it with the pureed onions and the mashed garlic. Add the
    peppercorns and the pieces of carp. Place in the fridge to coagulate. Serve the
    next day. Enjoy!

  • Dishes from Wallachia

    Dishes from Wallachia

    The Wallachian cuisine was influenced by the Greek and oriental one, by the French and even by the Italian cuisine. Wallachian recipes include lots of vegetables, meat, meat products, fish, milk, pasta and fruit. Rooster, goose or pork jelly are some of Wallachias staple dishes. In the old days, foreign guests who were invited to princely banquets were simply taken aback by that dish, which also had bits of vegetables in it, which made a very good impression thanks to vegetables lively coloring. No less amazing were fruits preserved in brine, such as apples or melons, which always went with the fatty dishes.



    Soups were soured with under-ripe fruit, such as green cherry plums or grapes. Later stocks were soured with lemon and wheat bran brew, which was of Russian origin, with vinegar being much less used for that. Stocks could also be soured with sauerkraut juice. Chicken, beef as well as lots of vegetables were used to prepare the stock. The nobles very much favored the meatballs sour soup, with sour cream dressing and garnished with lovage leaves.



    Here is the recipe for the meat jelly, one of Wallachias traditional dishes. If you want to prepare chicken jelly, you need a kilo of chicken wings and drumsticks, as well as a bunch of chicken feet and heads, so that the jelly congeals as quickly as possible. You also need two onions, two carrots, a head of garlic and a bunch of fresh parsley leaves. Leave the meat to boil, together with the carrots and the onion. Skim and allow everything to boil until the meat comes off the bone easily. Add a bit of salt towards the end.



    Remove the meat, mince it and strain the remaining juice, which you then put in a bowl, mixing the mashed garlic into it. Get a larger pot or a couple of bowls ready and fill them with carrot rounds, fresh parsley leaves, or maybe thinly-sliced bell peppers in vinegar, as well as the pieces of meat. Pour the juice over all that, very carefully, so as not to make a mess of the entire setting. Allow everything to cool, then place the pot or the bowls in the fridge. The jelly is ready to serve the following day. Enjoy!