Romanian+Recipes

Cooking time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 400 g corn flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1.5 liters of water. Prepare as fallows: Pour the water and the salt in a pot to boil. When boiling ad slowly the flour stirring all the time. Keep stirring till all the water is absorbed. Use a wooden spoon and continue to mix till the composition doesn’t stick to the pot. Use a wooden spoon and continue to mix till the composition doesn’t stick to the pot.

Turn the pot upside down on a wooden surface. Cut it with a thread/string or put it on a plate and add fresh cow cheese and fresh cream. You may also use “mamaliga” with fish or any kind of stew.


 * “Boeuf” Salade**

This dish is 100% Romanian- no influence; The name comes from French where boeuf means beef 4-5 potatoes, 1 carrot, 1 parsley root, 1 parsnip (optional), 1 large celery root, a handful of green peas, 2 pickles, 1/2 lb/250 g poultry breast or beef sirloin, 300g mayo,1 tablespoon mustard, salt. You get the best beef salad by boiling the vegetables with the meat (soup). Cube the potatoes and all other vegetables. The same goes for the meat and pickles. Place all in a bowl, add the peas and salt. In a separate bowl, mix mayo and mustard. Add 3/4 of the mayo mixture to the meat and vegetables and mix well. Arrange on a serving platter. Smooth with a knife and then cover with the rest of the mayo mixture. Garnish with a few olives, hard boiled egg white, or egg slices, pickled red peppers, parsley, etc. Try to shape flowers, other designs.


 * Cabbage rolls * Sarmale**

1 large soured cabbage or one large cabbage and sour kraut*, 1 3/4 lb/750 g ground meat (mixture of pork and beef is recommended-but you may use only beef), 4 large onions, 2 tablespoons rice, 3 tablespoons lard, 5-6 tomatoes or 1 tablespoon tomato sauce, salt, pepper, 1 qt/1 l sour cream Grind the meat with a raw onion. Place in a bowl and mix with rice, pepper, salt and finely chopped onion slightly fried in two tablespoons of lard. Mix everything well. Core the cabbage with a sharp thin knife. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves, one by one, so that they do not tear. Cut larger leaves in 2 or 3 and then place a little meat in each cabbage piece and roll in. The smaller the rolls are, the tastier they are. Place a layer of rolls in the pan (take a deep one), then cover with a layer of chopped (julienned) cabbage, then a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Do this layering until all the rolls are made. The last layer must be tomato slices or add tomato sauce. Add a heaping tablespoon of lard, pour the “borsh” and let simmer on top of the range for 30 minutes. Then place in the oven so that the liquid is reduced. Serve with sour cream.


 * When soured cabbage is not available, use cabbage leaves scalded in water and sour kraut instead of chopped (julienned) cabbage.


 * Romanian Walnut Panetone * Cozonaci cu nuca**

Romanian Panetone dough: 2 lbs/1 kg flour, 10 oz/300 g sugar, 1 1/2 cups milk, 6 eggs, 2 oz/50 g yeast, 7 oz/200 g butter, 2 tablespoons oil, vanilla stick, salt, egg for washing the dough, grease for the pans. Make a starter from yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix until the consistency of sour cream, add 2-3 tablespoons tepid milk, a little flour and mix well; sprinkle some flour on top, cover and let sit in a warm place to rise. Boil the milk with the vanilla stick (cut in very small pieces) and leave it on the side of the range, covered, to keep warm. Mix the yolks with the sugar and salt, then slowly pour the tepid milk, stirring continuously. Place the risen starter in a large bowl and pour, stirring continuously, the yolk-milk mixture and some flour, a little at a time. Then add 3 whipped egg whites. When you finish this step, start kneading. Knead, adding melted butter combined with oil, a little at a time, until the dough starts to easily come off your palms. Cover with a cloth and then something thicker (like a blanket). Leave in a warm place to triple in bulk. If during kneading the dough seems too hard, you may add a little milk. If, on the contrary, the dough seems too soft, you may add a little flour. Filling: 10 oz/300 g ground walnuts, 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup rum, vanilla Melt the sugar in the warm milk with vanilla in a pot on the range. When the sugar is melted, add the walnuts and keep stirring. After a few minutes of boiling, and after the filling has thickened, remove from heat and add rum. When the filling is cold, roll a sheet of dough about one finger thick, uniformly spread the walnut filling on top and roll like a jelly roll. Grease a bread pan, place the roll inside, let rise for a while. Wash with egg and bake at medium heat. Take out of the pan as soon as it is done, place on a cloth and let cool.