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. 

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.

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!