ROMANIAN FOOD PRESENTATION

DEVESELU SCHOOL

“SARMALE”You make it with one large pickled cabbage, 1kg ground meat (pork), 2 large onions (finely chopped), 50 grams rice, lard, 5 tomatoes (or a can of pealed tomatoes – I do not recommend ready-made tomato sauce), four-five slices of smoked bacon, salt, pepper, water. Fry the onion in lard till it gets gold brown, then mix it in a bowl with the meat, rice, salt and pepper. Caution with the salt: sour cabbage is already salty and too much salt in the meat mixture could ruin your meal. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves one by one, paying attention not to tear them. Depending on how big your cabbage is you need whole leaves or halves to make the rolls. Remove cabbage core – it is hard to roll the meat mixture if you don’t. they are good with ‘mamaliga’.

“MAMALIGA” Here is a famous food specialty of my country. It is called

Mămăligă . You make it just with water and corn flour. Put the water to boil in a large pot with the salt and the butter .

Pour about 1/3 of the maize flour and mix it continuously . After approx. 1-2 minutes pour the rest of the maize flour without mixing it . After about 10 minutes mix it again for 2-3 minutes, but carefully not to burn it .Flip it over on a wooden board. It’s great with cheese, sour cream and butter, with any kind of steak or fish or with “sarmale”, the previous recipe,or “mititei”, the next one!.

MITITEI” Here is a famous food speciality of my country. It is

called mititei or mici. Mititei (Romanian pronunciation: [miti/tej]) or mici ([mitʃʲ]; Romanian for little or small ones) is a traditional Romanian dish of grilled minced-meat rolls made from beef (usually mixed with lamb and pork), which contain garlic, black pepper, thyme, coriander, anise, savory and sometimes a touch of paprika. Sodium bicarbonate (and sometimes broth or water) is also added to the mixture.It is best served accompanied by mustard. Ideally the mustard should not contain too much vinegar, because the sour taste does not fit with the Mititei. The mititei are very popular in Romania.

“PIFTIE”You make it with any kind of meat with bone, carrots , parsley root, salt, garlicBoil the meat until the bone can rip on. In another pan boil the carrots and the parsley root too, until they get soft. After the meat and vegetables are cooked you put them in a plate with how much salt and garlic do you want and pour the soup you made. Let the ‘soup’ at the refrigerator a few hours to become like a jelly.

“COZONAC”Ingredients8 cups flour8 eggs1 cup sugar1 cup butter2 tbs. oil2 cups milk50 gr. yeast 1 tbs. salt1 tbs. rumvanilla extract1 lemon scraped skin

The recipes differ rather significantly between regions in what concerns the trimmings. The dough is essentially similar throughout the country: a plain sweet bread made with flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt. Depending on the region, one may add to it any of the following: raisins, Turkish delight (Rahat Lokum), grated orange or lemon rind, walnuts or hazelnuts, vanilla or rum flavor. Cozonac may be sprinkled with poppy seeds on top.

“PAPANASI”Here food is a famous

speciality of my country. It is called Papanasi (Cottage cheese dumplings) .

4 cups fresh cottage cheese

1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon baking

powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1-1/2 cup flour sour cream jam

Mix the cottage cheese with the sugar and the baking powder. After that add the eggs and the vanilla extract and at the very end the flour.You can mix it with a mixer for better homogeneity. In a deep pan heat some oil.Make small balls of dough, a size that would fit in your hands. Make a whole through the center of it with your finger and take it through flour. Enlarge carefully the whole and flatten the ball of dough a little.Fry them in hot oil on both sides until they get color. (aprox 5 minutes)Serve with sour cream and jam on top.

ROMANIAN DISH The best way to enjoy a Romanian

speciality is in a Romanian dish called “strachina”, They are made of burnt clay and richly decorated.

“POFTA BUNA!”

“ENJOY!”