ISO: Tried & True Romanian Recipes...

[Natasha]

...or even one recipe? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

Hi everyone,
It occurred to me during a lively discussion last week about various Eastern European countries that I have never in my life had Romanian food. Now I'm intrigued and determined to make something. I wonder if any of you have tried any Romanian recipes that you would recommend. I know there are websites out there with recipes, but what I'd really like is your input! Thanks in advance.

[Natasha]

Or has nobody else tried Romanian food either? Even in a restaurant? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif C'mon...someone please help out this curious girl with a taste for the slightly adventurous...I may have to just make something using a recipe off the Net after all!

[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 11-01-2000).]

[Gail]

Don't get excited.

No recipes, I'm afraid. Not that I wouldn't be game for Romanian chow if I knew where to get it, just thought I'd commiserate with you a little. Months ago, I went through the same thing, trying to get Yugoslavian recipes. Vanessa was nice enough to put me onto some web sites which helped, but I never did find exactly the dish I wanted.

If you get desperate, I've got some Romanian recipes from The Frug, but I'm afraid I haven't tried any of them.

I share your frustration and wish I could help...

[Natasha]

Thanks for commiserating, Gail! I do feel better now that I know someone else feels my pain http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif and I may end up asking for those recipes in a few days.

Natasha

[Jeanne G]

These are far from "tried and true" but at least it's (literally) food for thought. I got on the internet and searched "Romania" and opened one website that had most of these. The first one is from allrecipes, I think! Just thought I'd try to help.


Romanian Apple Cake
Prep Time: approx. 20 Minutes
Cook Time: approx. 55 Minutes

" This is a wonderfully simple, yet delicious cake! It is so moist and fresh, it will surely be a favorite with your family, just like it is with mine! The main length of the preparation time is cutting and peeling the apples. A mixture of apples works great, although I usually use Golden Delicious.#xA; "


Ingredients
5 apples, peeled and cored
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. Cut the apples into 1 inch wedges. Set aside.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until blended. Mix in the baking soda, oil, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir in the flour, just until incorporated. Fold in the apples and walnuts.

3 Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly. May be served warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 - 9x13 inch pan
Nutrition at a glance
Servings Per Recipe: 12 amount per serving
Calories 398 Protein 5g Total Fat 20g Sodium 122mg Cholesterol 53mg Carbohydrates 51g
Fiber 3g

Fish Roe Salad (Salata de icre)

200gr (~7oz) fish roe, 1 slice of bread, 150ml oil (~5 floz), salt, lemon juice.

200gr of fish roe are mixed with one slice of bread in a mixer bowl. Add the oil continously in small amounts, mixing everything with the mixer as is usually done for mayonaisse. Be careful not to pour too much oil at once because you can spoil everything. As you get towards the finish, the roe should become whiter and triple their volume. Afterwards it needs seasoning with salt and lemon juice, according to your own taste.The roe taste better if some onion is added (cut in small pieces).

It is served spread on slices of bread (as one usually does with the butter) and goes well with olives as an appetizer.


Eggplant Salad (Salata de vinete)

2 medium eggplants (dark colored and firm skinned), 150ml oil (~5 floz), salt, 1 onion, 2 teaspons of milk.

The eggplants are burned at medium heat directly on the flame, until they become soft.While still warm, peel off the burned skin of the eggplants. Place the eggplants on a wooden platter and let them drain their juice because it tastes bitter.Smash the eggplants untill they become a paste, using a wooden or plastic knife.Beware not to use a blender or a food processor because they break the seeds and make the salad bitter.Place the paste in a mixing bowl and add the milk to whiten them. Mix the eggplants with oil and salt according to personal taste. Peel and cut the onion in small pieces and add it to the mixture.If you like, you can add mayonaisse, too (as much as you wish).

The eggplant salad is served as an appetizer, spread on slices of bread. Tomatoes taste good with them.



Turkey Soup (Ciorba de potroace)

2 l (~2qt) water, turkey wings and necks, salt and pepper, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 carrots, 1 leafstalk of celery, 1 onion, 3 spoons of rice.

Boil the turkey wings and necks for approximatelly 1 hour. Then add the vegetables previously cut in small pieces and the rice and boil until they become tender. Add the salt and pepper. Sour it with the juice of the lemons. Sprinkle some parsley and dill and serve hot. Serves 6.



Tripe Soup (Ciorba de burta)

4l (~4qt) water, a big piece of trip, a small fatty piece of beef for flavour, salt and 10 peppercorns, 2 carrots, 1 leafstalk of celery, 1 onion, 1 bayleaf, 2 yolks,vinegar and garlic.

Cut the meat and the trip in small pieces and boil it water together with the bayleaf and the salt and pepper. Add the carrots, celery and one whole onion and boil them with the meat. Scamble the yolks with 2 spoons of vinegar and then add them to the soup which is not boiling anymore. Crushed garlic and vinegar may be added in extra amounts as desired.



Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale)

A big cabbage or 2 medium sized ones, 750gr (1.5lb) lean pork meat, 1 slice of bread, 2 onions, 2 spoons of rice, 1 pack sauerkraut, 1 small cup tomatoe sauce, salt and pepper.

It is a traditional Christmas dish.

Part the cabbage leaves and then steam them until they become tender. Saute the small minced onion and when it become yellowish and translucent add the rice and continue to fry everything for 1 or 2 minutes. Take the pan off the flame and cool it with 2 tablespoons of water. Mix the meat with the rice and onions and a slice of bread dipped in milk; seazon it with salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

Place a small amount of the above mixture on every cabbage leaf and roll them and tuck in the edges. Put one range of sauerkraut on the bottom of a pot and over it a range of cabbage rolls;continue to do so until you finish. Pour the tomatoe sauce over it and add some smoked bacon, a bayleafand some thyme at the top. Pour ~2 cups of water in the pot and boil the cabbbage rolls with the pot covered with a lid for at least 1.5 hour.

The rolls can be made with vine leaves instead of cabbage.



Lamb Liver (Drob de miel)

500gr lamb liver and lamb meat, 2 eggs, 1 slice of bread, 1 spoon of sour cream, 1 spoonful of chopped parsley, 2 spring onions, salt and pepper.

Traditional Easter dish.

Boil the meat and the liver and then mince them with the meat grinder. Add the eggs and the slice of bread and the rest of the ingredients,place them in a baking dish and put them in the oven at a medium high temperature. The dish can be baked wrapped in dough - 1egg, 150 gr (5 oz) flour, 1 spoonful of oil. It is a traditional Easter dish.

[Luiza]

With suffering like this, I just had to stop lurking! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Here is a tried and true Romanian recipe, simple but very popular (a bean dip):

Cook 1lb navy beans, a small onion, a parsnip and a carrot in water to cover until the beans are done. Drain beans, reserving liquid. Discard onion. Mash beans, carrot and parsnip in a food processor, adding olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Use the reserved liquid to adjust the consistency of the paste. Cut a small onion into rings and fry until caramelized. Put paste in a bowl and top with fried onions.

I would suggest adding one clove of garlic and 1/4 cup of olive oil, then tasting. The onions really add to the taste, so I wouldn't skip them. Canned beans don't quite work.

Anyway, Romanian food is really heavy (lots of animal products), so it may not be a suitable topic for this BB http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Until a few years ago, the food was entirely seasonal; in the winter, the only vegetables and fruits to be had besides potatoes and onions had to be pickled and canned in the fall.

If you're interested, I can post tomorrow my mother's recipe for sour soup with meatballs (mmm... I'm hungry).

Hope this helped a little,

Luiza

[BetsyF]

Luiza,

Would love to see your mother's recipe for Sour Soup with Meatballs. I love to cook, but my only experience with Romanian food was with my friends around the corner growing up -- loved the food, didn't cook then, couldn't discern tastes or ingredients. The soup sounds wonderful though.

[Natasha]

My wish has come true!!

Luiza, this helps a lot. Thank you for coming out of lurkdom to share this with us. I was hoping there was someone out there who had a great recipe or two from childhood or otherwise to share. I look forward to trying this, and would also be interested in your soup. I also hope we hear more from you in the future. Welcome aboard!

And Jeanne, thank you too! That salad and cake sound especially delicious. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Hoping to try at least one, and maybe both.

I also did a quick search on the Net earlier, before posting my question. I have posted below one of the recipes that I found. Luiza (or anyone else), what do you think of it? Does it look authentic? Do you think it would be good? Note that the woman who posted this recipe mentioned that she had not tried it herself.

Thanks to you all, this void in my international culinary experiences will soon be history http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

Forum Home Page: Gail Swap Archive
Re: romanian recipes (richard saudargas)
Previous Message: Romanian recipes galore..... (Diana B.)
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 1995 00:47:41 GMT
From: Diana B. (silvana@mit.edu [])

Romanian Recipes...
Well, as I was thinking about just what was
"typically" Romanian I realized just how much
of our cuisine is imported, and really how much
is really international fare. Anyhow, I asked
around for some advice and one person suggested
the following recipe, which I'm going to translate
into English. However, the measurements are
metric and I don't have their equivalents here
to give you, but any good cookbook should tell
you how to convert.

PLACINTA CU POALELE IN BRIU (these are like little
pockets filled with sweet cheese)

500g flour
10g yeast (the fresh kind)
2 eggs
1T butter
1T oil
milk
1t sugar
salt

Filling:
150g cheese (probably something like ricotta
would work, or maybe farmer's cheese)
fresh butter (about the size of a walnut)
1 egg
1t flour
2T milk
1t sugar
salt

Soften the yeast in a pot with a little bit of
warm water. Add about a handful of flour little
by little, stirring until it reaches the consistency
of thick sourcream. Dust the top with a little
bit of flour and then put it somewhere warm to rise.

Put the rest of the flour into a large bowl and
make a well in the middle, add the eggs (slightly beaten)
and the butter (melted) and the oil. Also add the
mixture from above and mix it all well, and knead it
very well until the dough comes off your hands and
the bowl (it stops sticking to you and the bowl.)

[This part's trickier] While beating, add milk, or
warm water just enough to reach the "proper"
softness.

FOR the FILLING:
Mix the cheese with the butter, add the egg, milk, flour
sugar and salt to taste. Mix well.

Roll out the dough, and then cut it into small squares.
Place some cheese in the middle and then fold
the edges to the middle, folding it like an
envelope. make sure to seal it well, so none
of the cheese will leak out. Brush with an
egg wash and then bake. Serve warm.



[This message has been edited by Natasha (edited 11-01-2000).]

[Luiza]

Here is the promised recipe. It's a direct translation of what my mother wrote down for me. Sour soups are very popular in the south part of Romania, where every meal starts with a soup of some kind.

Sour Soup with Meatballs (Ciorba de Perisoare)

Mix well by hand 1kg ground pork (or ground pork and ground beef mix), 1 onion finely chopped, 1 larger fistful of rice, 1 egg, finely chopped dill and parsley, salt, and pepper. Make meatballs of the size of small walnuts, roll them in flour, and set them aside (this recipe makes about 100 meatballs). Fill about half of a 3L pot with cold water. Add to the water the following vegetables, cut very small or shredded 1-2 carrots, 1 parsley root, 1/4 celery root, and 1 onion or a few green onions. When the vegetables are softened, throw in a fistful of rice. After the rice is cooked, add the meatballs one by one. The meatballs cook pretty fast. after they are done, add 1 chopped tomato, 1 chopped green pepper, parsley, and celery leaves. Sour with fresh lemon juice to taste. Taste for salt, and add a bit more pepper. Let boil a few times.

This makes a substantial quantity of of soup, as you can very well imagine. These soups are meant to be reheated, they actually taste better the next few days after they are cooked. For just 4 portions, I use 300g meat and 2tbs of rice for the meatballs, add no rice in the soup, and put only half of the tomato and green pepper. The herb used to give sour soups is called leushtean, but it's hard to find in North America. Celery leaves are a reasonable substitute.

The sour soups are usually soured with bors, a liquid made out of wheat bran mixed with water and left to ferment. They are fairly sour, so I use 2 lemons. They are also sometimes soured with sauerkraut juice or with green (unripe) fruits such as apricots. The soups are traditionally thickened with a mixture of sour cream and egg yolk, for taste as well as for skyrocketing cholesterol levels, I suppose, especially considering that Romanian sour cream is 22% M.F.. My mother usually skipped this step.

As for the pastry recipe you posted, Natasha, it authentic enough. I've usually had these pockets filled with a mixture of sweet and salty cheese (perhaps ricotta with feta?). I don't know what farmer's cheese is, but what is used in Romania tastes like drained cottage cheese, if this makes any sense. My cookbook recommends that if only sweet cheese is used, to add to it lemon rind and some raisins soaked in rum. Now, I myself am a disaster when it comes to baking even when following well thought out recipes http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif so I wouldn't even think of baking something after the instructions in a Romanian cookbook. Important steps are skipped, no temperatures and cooking times anywhere... and the instructions are completely unenlightening. My sister, who is trying to revive a home tradition of baking by learning from cookbooks (nobody had the presence of mind to get grandmother's recipes written down somewhere), considers "the consistency of thick sour cream" business to be the bane of her cooking attempts. The suitable consistency is usually determined by family consensus, not by any scientific observation method. Add to this that Romanian sour cream is more like a thick cream... And that business about "proper" this or that!

OK, end rant! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Natasha, if you make the pockets, I would love if you could give me more precise instructions, and I'll give them a try. To you and BetsyF, best of luck with your Romanian cooking experience!

Luiza