Thousands of visitors were expected last
weekend at the Pancake parade, a festival held for almost two decades in the
resort of Moneasa, in Arad, western Romania. This is the most eagerly awaited
event in this small town and resort, drawing visitors from across Romania and
abroad.
It is not, however, the only
festival held in Romania meant to promote a tourist resort. Prejmer is another
such example, hosting a Pancake Caravan in February or March that focuses on a
custom practiced by the Saxons around Brasov which originally had to do with
the young men’s leaving to do their military service. They would go from one
end of the village to another to say their goodbyes, distributing pancakes to
everyone. Pancakes are also distributed in Moneasa to the visitors, to convince
them to come back the following year.
The pancakes have different
fillings, both sweet and savoury, from vegetables and meat to gem and
chocolate, being served as side dishes or a meal in themselves as well as
desserts. Seemingly invented in France, pancakes have spread to Europe
where you can find them under various names in Western Europe, in Central and
Eastern Europe as well as in North America.
In Romania,
pancakes are a common dessert being mainly served with different fruit preserve
fillings. In Transylvania, the usual pancake filling is minced chicken, pork or
beef mixed with sautéed onions and mushrooms and seasoned with pepper, thyme,
dill and paprika.
The region of Maramures boasts a special type of
pancakes, which observes the region’s culinary tradition: sausage pancakes. For
the sausage pancakes’ filling you need homemade sausages and bacon that have to
be thinly sliced. Add grated hard cheese and finely chopped dill. Place the
filling on the pancake and roll, then place in a bowl. Sausage pancakes are not
a dessert but an appetizer, so don’t add sugar to the pancake batter. After
placing all the pancakes in the bowl, pour a little sour cream on top. Place
the bowl in the oven and cook at medium heat for 15 minutes. If you use a heat
resistant bowl, you can leave the pancakes in the oven for more than 20 minutes.