Romanian Eggplant Salad

No meal in my household can be had without the absolute basic - our eggplant salad! It's like bread and water, you just have to have it! It consists of nothing other than roasted eggplants with some oil and salt, but the taste is divine and one serving is never ever enough! The directions might seem a bit confusing so I added a few pictures so you can realize they're not as intimidating as they might sound.. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

4 large eggplants

Vegetable oil

Salt

Tomatos (optional, to garnish)

Green onion (optional, to garnish)

METHOD

1.     Broil the eggplants for 40minutes, turning them over after half the time. You may broil using the broil function of your oven or use an open flame to roast them stove top. 

2.     Place a colander in a large bowl, peel the eggplants (careful, they'll be very hot), and place the meat in the colander.

3.     At this point the eggplants have to drain for at least an hour otherwise they will be very bitter. In order for all the juice to drain well we maintain pressure on the eggplant during this hour. A simple way that we use to do it is to place something heavy directly on top of the eggplants. Start by placing a plate over the eggplants and hand pressing it to get some of the juice out. When most of the major juice has sifted out, place a heavy bowl full of water to maintain the plate pressed down and leave for an hour. It may look something like this:

4.     When all the juices have drained place the eggplants in a food processor and mix, adding oil and salt to taste. Make sure you only pulse and don't let it run too much, you want to still be able to see most of the seeds. Be somewhat generous on the oil and salt until you reach a smooth texture, but once it's chopped you can take it out of the processor and add the oil and salt by hand mixing until it tastes good.
If you don't have a processor or just want to make it like in "the good ole-days," place the meat on a large cutting board and use a large knife to chop the eggplants until they reach a smooth, even texture. Then place in a bowl and add salt and oil until it tastes good! 

5.    Garnish with slices of tomato and green onion and serve!

Golubtsi / Sarmale (Stuffed Cabbage or Grape Leaves)

This is my favorite food of all times, from when I was very little to this very day. Golubtsi refer to cabbage leaves or grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground meat and rice. You may use this same mixture to also stuff red bell peppers, which may be a little less work since you don't have to do any wrapping. Many countries have their recipes for stuffed vegetables or grape leaves, and all somewhat vary. The kind that we make have more meat and are bigger and less standard in size than the ones that you usually see in the Mediterranean section of the supermarket, which are usually skinny and have mostly rice in them. The flavor of these is distinct from others, so even if you've tried them before, don't rule out this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground turkey

1 medium onion

1 medium carrot

1 tbsp tomato paste

Dill

1.5 tsp Salt

Chicken soup powder (1-2 tbsp for a large pot)

Heaping ½ cup rice

Cabbage head / grape leaves

Sour cream – to serve

METHOD

1.       Chop onion and fry with regular canola oil.

2.       Largely grate the carrot and add to onion to fry some more.

3.       Add 1tbsp tomato paste, some dill, and mix well.

4.       Remove from heat, add to the meat and add some salt.

5.       Mix in ½ cup of rice after washing it well and add salt or chicken soup powder.

6.       If using cabbage, cut off the head. Boil water and when boils throw in the leaves for few seconds until they separate. Immediately remove, put in a bowl and close it for them to soften. The spine should be cut off the leaves.

7.  If using grape leaves, start from here. Stuff the leaves by putting some of the filling in the middle in an elongated shape. Fold in length wise, then both sides, then the other edge. 

8.   Put in a pot, cover with boiling water with chicken soup powder, bring to boil, and let simmer for an hour. 

Sirniki (Farmer's Cheese Pancakes)

My most favorite breakfast ever, these are Russian Tvorog (soft farmer's cheese) pancakes served warm with sour cream. A Saturday morning would rarely be complete without these! The main ingredient is best bought in Russian stores, unfortunately I still haven't found an American equivalent to replace this type of cheese exactly, but check your stores, you never know what you may find when you're looking for it. This recipe is the one my Grandpa used to make for us growing up, and of course now we continue the legacy!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb tvorog (farmer’s cheese, consistency similar to ricotta)

2 egg

½ cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

METHOD

1.  Mix and fry on medium heat till golden.

Green Ciorba (Vegetable Soup)

This delicious Romanian soup can be eaten hot or cold, top it off with some sour cream, and it is the most comforting bowl of soup you've ever tasted! Here again, the quantities don't have to be exact - just make it so it fits the size of your pot.

INGREDIENTS

Potatoes

Carrots

Zucchini

Parsley root

Baby spinach

Dill

Green onion

Lemon juice

Sour cream

METHOD

1.       Place water in a large pot, add medium size potatoes cut in half, carrots cut in large pieces, zucchini cut in large circles, and parsley root. Bring to boil and simmer for 20min.

2.       Add baby spinach, dill, and green onion and cook until all vegetables have softened.

3.      Add lemon juice and serve with sour cream.

Kotlieti (Ground Meat Patties)

A classic of many cuisines and every day meals, kotlieti are simply ground meat patties, as they are called in Russian. This is my grandma's recipe and it yields light and airy patties thanks to the secret ingredients that she adds - zucchini and soda water! This is one of the dishes we have on regular basis and each time we gobble them up as quickly as possible!

INGREDIENTS

1lb ground turkey

1 medium onion

½ medium zucchini

2 eggs

3-4 garlic teeth

2 tbsp soda water

2-3 tbsp bread crumbs

Salt

Pepper

METHOD

1.  Place onion, zucchini and garlic in food processor to achieve an even mash.

2.  Mix meat with the mash, add eggs, water, and bread crumbs

3. Mix until all the water is absorbed, wet hands and form oval shaped patties about 2" in length and fry on medium-high heat in oil until brown.  

Moussaka (Eggplant and Ground Meat Casserole)

Another one of my absolute favorites, Moussaka is a classic dish from the greek-mediterranean-balkan-eastern european region. There are many variations of the recipe, but Moussaka is basically a dish of sauted eggplants, tomato, and ground meat. The recipe I will share here is from my grandma, it is very simple and exceptionally tasty!

INGREDIENTS

4 eggplants

1.5 kg ground beef (may use turkey for healthier version)

1 onion

Flour for dipping

Sunflower oil

Tomato paste (optional)

2  28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

METHOD

1.       Cut eggplants into round 1cm thick pieces. Cover them in salt and let sit for an hour to drain the bitter liquid.

2.       Wash off the bitter liquid and salt, dry the pieces.

3.       Dip each piece in flour. Fry each piece till golden.

4.       Separately, fry chopped onion till golden, add ground beef (may use 50-50 pork and beef). Fry for about 30mins, stirring, until meat is brown.

5.       Take a cooking pot or 2 baking trays: put layer of eggplants, meat, cover with either crushed tomatoes or tomato paste, then add another layer of eggplants, meat, and tomatoes, salt and pepper at the tomato layers. Using crushed tomatoes turns out tastier!

 6. Cook for 30min on the stove or put in baking dish, cover with foil and bake on 400-450F for 30mins. 

Chopped Liver Salad / Chicken Liver Paté

Chicken Liver Paté

Chicken Liver Salad

Chicken liver is one of my favorite ingredients due to its great versatility and usage. The most classic form in which I know it is as a chopped salad, often scooped into cooked egg halves and served as the well known "stuffed egg" appetizer. Otherwise it can be simply eaten as is or spread on bread. 

The French variation of this dish makes it a little more light, airy, and spreadable. Great served on bread or crackers, and makes for a beautiful appetizer as well! 


Find this and other great recipes in my favorite book:

INGREDIENTS

500g chicken liver

4 onions chopped coarsely

1/3-1/4 cup oil or goose fat

Salt and pepper

4 hard boiled eggs (more if you plan to stuff eggs!)

2 tbsp brandy (if making paté)

METHOD

1.  Heat oil in frying pan, add onions and fry until golden.

2.  Add livers and fry for 10mins over low heat until they turn brown and begin to fall apart. Season with salt and pepper.

3.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the livers and onions and refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins. Save the fat.

4.  If making chopped salad: Chop livers, onions, and hard boiled eggs with a knife and mix well, or use a processor. Stir in some of the fat used for frying. Taste and adjust seasoning.
You may now boil some eggs, cut them in half, and place some chopped liver in the egg white, top with mayo and chives for decoration.

5.  If making paté: add 2 tbsp brandy and puree the livers, onions, and eggs until smooth.

6.  Transfter to a terrine lined with cling wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.

7.  Before serving, turn over onto a serving dish, remove wrap, slice into portions and serve with toast. Berry sauce, fruit marmalade or pears poached in sweet wine complement the taste.

Mamaliga (Polenta)

Some of my favorite mornings growing up were waking up to find freshly made warm mamaliga on the table covered in sizzling butter and salty crumbled brinza cheese... After this hearty, luscious meal, there was no need for lunch or dinner the rest of the day - just perfect! 

Mamaliga is basically very similar to polenta and is a staple of Romanian cuisine, without which no meal can ever be complete. It can be served with just about anything your imagination might concoct! Top it off with cheese, sunny side up eggs, sauted mushrooms, meat, fish - just about anything tastes good with mamliga!

Mastering the preparation of mamaliga takes practice, so don't give up! The key to remember is  you don't need to wait for it to harden completely while in the pot, pour it out on a plate and it'll harden as it cools down and you will get the perfect texture. If you want to get fancy you may also pour it into a receptacle, let it cool, and turn upside down onto a flat plate to get the shape of the receptacle for serving. However usually it's just served quite simply as shown in the picture above. 

INGREDIENTS
 6 cups water

 2 cups cornmeal 

 1.5 tsp salt

The kind I use, easily found in most stores

METHOD

1.       Boil water in a heavy cast iron pot, add salt and cornmeal.

2.       Mix well using wooden spoon and bring to boil again.

3.       Cover, lower the heat to level 2-3 and cook for 10 minutes.

4.       Mix until the consistency becomes more solid and separates from walls.

5.       Turn upside down onto a serving plate and top it off with your topping of choice!