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Tag: Romanian recipes

  • Traditional Easter Lunch in Romania

    Traditional Easter Lunch in Romania


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



    Alongside lamb dishes and pound cake, the “Pasca” 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. Enjoy!




  • Mutton Pastrami

    Mutton Pastrami


    According to Romanian tradition, in early autumn, when harvesting of wine grapes (vintage) is in full swing, people usually eat mutton pastrami and drink grape juice, known as “must, in Romanian. “Must and pastrami are usually associated with the return of sheep from the mountains to their owners in villages, a significant part of the transhumance process, which gets celebrated by the locals by eating various types of sheep cheese, mutton dishes, and drinking “must.



    Mutton pastrami is usually made from the meat of old sheep and young rams. Pastrami can also be made from beef, pork and chicken, but the beginning of autumn is associated with mutton pastrami. The pastrami is dried, smoked and well spiced, and the best pastrami is made from low-fat mutton.



    To prepare pastrami you will need 2 or 3 kilograms of mutton, several heads of garlic, crushed pepper, salt, chili powder and paprika, dried thyme and white wine. Debone the meat and slice it into thin strips. Crush the garlic cloves into a paste, and mix in the spices and seasonings. Cover the meat well in the paste, pile the strips into a vessel, then cover in white wine. Traditionally, the meat is left to marinate in this mixture for several days in a cool, dry place. In villages it was left like this in house cellars, but nowadays the fridge is used most often for this purpose. When the time is up, the meat is taken out of its marinade and left in the open air to dry well. Only then is it grilled, and if you plan on conserving it for later, the pastrami has to be smoked. If you dont have a grill handy, then slice the meat into thin strips and deep fry it or cook it in the oven. Serve with polenta, with cheese and pickles on the side, and a glass of fresh “must.



    Mutton pastrami can also be used in meat and potato stew, or in meat and bean pods stew. You will need equal amounts of meat and pods and two or three tomatoes, two bell peppers and three onions. Finely chop the onions and simmer in oil, then add the tomatoes cut into small cubes and the peppers sliced into strips, and cook slowly. In a separate recipient boil the pods in salted water, then mix with the simmer vegetables and the pastrami sliced into strips. Leave to simmer, and if the pastrami has not been previously spiced, add ground pepper and chilly at the end.



    Serve hot! Enjoy!

  • Dutch Oven Chicken

    Dutch Oven Chicken


    The summer is the time for picnics, where the main attraction is a charcoal grill. Steaks and kabobs skewers are very popular, but so is chicken. However, some very seasoned, old fashioned outdoor cooks use a Dutch oven over an open fire or a bed of hot coals. Of course, theres nothing to stop you using one at home, which is why the following recipes are quite handy.



    Chicken made in this fashion has been compared to fast food. It is a very simple idea: cut one or two chickens into the basic parts, then salt and pepper them. You can also use chili powder, for a bit of added kick. Heat up the Dutch oven with plenty of oil, or, if you dont mind the less healthy, but more traditional alternative, lard, enough to cover a few pieces of the chicken. Simply drop the chicken in there, and you wont have long to wait. The result is a delicious, very crispy meat. The simple way to serve is with garlic sauce and polenta, the old fashioned way.



    However, that is not the only alternative. You can use the cooked meat for a basic stew with vegetables, typical of summer. The basic solution is just with onion and green pepper, which you boil in water or a bit of white wine with the meat, left to reduce. Of course, there is nothing to prevent you from using all kinds of fresh vegetables that are in season during summer.



    One other solution is a mushroom stew. For it, you fry the meat with the onion, pour in the water, then whole simple white mushrooms, or the wild mushrooms of your choice. Add towards the end spices, our recommendation being fresh ground coriander, as well as basil and fresh parsley. Enjoy!

  • Pea Dishes

    Pea Dishes

    Fresh peas are one of the gastronomic temptations at the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Originating in Asia, peas were cultivated by the Greeks and Romans in the south of Europe, spreading later to the rest of the continent. In Romania peas were apparently adopted as a crop in the 17th century.



    Since peas can more recently be easily preserved, either canned or frozen, they are used year round to prepare various dishes, either vegetarian or with meat.



    For instance peas are used together with other boiled and chopped vegetables in Olivier salad, or salade russe. This salad is actually of German origin, one of the ingredients being mayonnaise.



    To make Olivier salad you need beef, potatoes, pickled cucumbers and pickled bell peppers, carrots, mayonnaise and, of course, peas. Another pea dish specific to the summer and autumn seasons is vegetable stew, for which you need peas, potatoes, onion, cabbage, carrots, green beans, garlic, marrows, celeriac, and celeriac or parsnip.



    When peas are the solo ingredient, one of the most popular preparations in Romanian cuisine is pea stew. You need 2 kg of peas in the pod, 2 or 3 onions, tomato juice and a bunch of dill. Finely chop the onion and sauté it in oil. Shell the beans for maximum freshness, wash them and throw them in the saucepan. If the peas are very fresh and pods are thick, you can throw some of the pods in the pan as well. Add water and simmer for half an hour. Add the tomato juice or paste, or two chopped tomatoes, salt to taste, but before removing the pan from heat add the finely chopped dill, which will lend a special flavor to the stew. If you want meat in the stew, can also put in chicken, turkey, veal or pork. Enjoy!

  • Sweet cheese and raisin cake

    Sweet cheese and raisin cake

    Different communities have different dishes they emphasise, such as the Saxons, who organise in Prejmer, near Brasov, the Festival of Crepes to mark the beginning of Lent, according to a long standing tradition.



    The Christian Orthodox have recently celebrated their equivalent of Mardi Gras, the last day when they can eat eggs, fish and dairy. On this day, in the south of the country they make cheesecake. That, however, is a misnomer, because it is not exactly like a cheesecake, although it has similarities. The beauty of this recipe is the fact that the dough is hand made.



    You need half a kilo of flour, half a kilo of cottage cheese, one cup of milk, two or three tablespoons of sour cream or butter, powdered sugar, possibly vanilla flavoured, about 100 grams of raisins, essence of rum, a little oil and two egg yolks. You also need some fresh yeast. Mix the flour with the yeast, two or three tablespoons of sugar, with two or three tablespoons of sour cream or a couple of tablespoons of butter. Mix the dough well, cut in half, and spread out the halves in two sheets. Lay the first sheet in the oven tray you’ll be baking in, lightly buttering the tray.



    To make the filling, mix well the cheese with the two egg yolks, with the vanilla sugar and the raisins. Spread it evenly on the dough sheet, then cover with the second sheet. Prick the top sheet with a fork to let the steam out. It takes about half an hour to bake. Sprinkle with confectionary sugar and serve hot.