Romanian Recipes

Pancakes With Jam

Ingredients: 10 eggs,1 glass of sugar,1 glass of cream,2 glasses of wheaten flour,50 g butter,2 glasses of jam,lemon-peel,wheaten rusks,some salt Yolks of eggs should be thouroughly intermixed with sugar,the cream should be poured in,the lemon-peel as well as some salt and the required amount of flour should be also added.When pouring the flour into this mixture see to that the latter gets properly stirred.The thoroughly whipped whites of eggs should be carefully mixed with the previously obtained mass (having yolks) and all that should be put within a pan into the cold water.Bake cakes on the well greased pan,then coat them with jam,pile them up (one atop another) into the thoroughly greased and breadcrumbled deep pan,followin which keep them for ten minutes within an oven.Dust the pancakes with sugar prior to serving.

Green Walnuts Jam

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of fresh, green walnuts (about 23-30, depending on size) 1 1/2 lbs of sugar 3 1/4 cups of water 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean) 4 cloves or 1 tsp cardamom

Find fresh walnuts

This will be probably the most difficult part of the process. If you're fortunate to have your own (black) walnut tree, or access to one, then pick your green walnuts sometime in June, the earlier the better. The size of the green walnut should be between a very large olive and a very small egg. You should be able to cut it in half very easily without a hard inner shell developing, and it should be a light-green and white inside. If you don't have access to a walnut tree, then go to a local farmer's market and find a nut purveyor. Ask them if you could buy some green walnuts; you'll probably have to make a special order since they might not have them on hand. You could also try calling around at some pickyour-own nut farms and see if you're able to pick the walnut trees a bit earlier than their typical season which is later in the summer. Again, timing is key: you'll want to order your green walnuts at the end of May or very early June at the latest.

Peel and soak your green walnuts

For the next step, you'll need gloves: rubber kitchen gloves are just fine, although latex gloves will probably afford you more flexibility and comfort. Why? Green walnuts, when cut open, leak a clear, colorless liquid which will very rapidly turn a dark, coffee-colored brown and which will stain your fingers in a way that takes a couple weeks of relentless scrubbing to get off! So, don your gloves, and use a potato peeler to take off the skin of your green walnuts. You can also cut off any woody stem bit at the ends, too. Place the skinned walnuts in a pot of cold water. You might also want to prick your walnuts at least halfway through with a fork, too, although you can also do this a few days later after your walnuts have soaked for a while. At this stage, be sure to weigh your peeled walnuts. This will be important at a later stage. Soak your walnuts in fresh, cold water for 9 days, changing the water twice daily. Keep the walnuts submerged--they will float on their own--by placing a ceramic plate on top of them. The water will take on a golden-to-green color by the time you rinse them. This step is important because you're basically washing away the natural bitter taste in the unripe walnuts. You'll also notice that the walnuts will slowly darken, going from a light green to a dark green to an eventual dark mahogany brown. If you want a firmer walnut preserve, then soak in lime water (pickling lime dissolved in cold water) for days 5-8, changing the water daily. You'll still want to soak in regular cold water for the 9th day. The pickling lime contains calcium hydroxide, which is safe in small quantities, and which precipitates the naturally-occurring pectin in the walnuts, resulting in a firmer (but still soft) preserve.

Prepare your syrup and cook your walnuts

Poke each walnut with a chopstick or large knitting needle, or 3-4 times with a fork. Then throw them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and allow to dry completely.

Add the sugar and water to a pot. Bring to a boil, and then toss in the walnuts. Bring to a boil again, and then simmer the walnuts in the syrup for about 30 minutes. Cover and allow to cool for about 6 hours (ideally overnight). Add the lemon juice, cinnamon, and cloves/cardamom to the pot, and cook for another 30 minutes. Check a walnut to make sure it is soft but still has some "give" (it should almost have the texture of cheddar cheese); if it's still too firm, cook it longer until it softens. When the walnuts are ready, pour them and the syrup into sterilized jars and seal

Cozonac (Sponge Cake)

This is an old recipe for a cake we do for Christmas or Easter. The name is COZONAC .

Ingredients;1 kg flour,50 g yeast,7 yolks,2 whites,300 g sugar,250 g butter,1 tablespoon rum,1 teaspoon salt,500 ml milk.
For the stuffing:140 g sugar,6 tablespoons water,200 g poppy seeds,1 vanilla extract,1
tablespoon cinnemon Flour needs to be at the room temperature. So you can bring it in the kitchen one day before. Put the yolks in the middle of flour with a little salt and leave it overnight to get a darken color. In a bowl put the yeast, a little bit of sugar and warm milk. In a big bowl put half of cup with flour and a little very hot milk and mix it together not to have lumps. After is getting a little cold (you can put a finger inside) mix it with the yeast mix till you have bubbles. Scatter flour on top, put an towel on and leave it in a warm place till is getting twice the size. Meanwhile, mix the yolks with salt, and then with sugar till you get a foamy cream. In the bowl you have all the flour put the yeast mix and start stirring. Add a little warm milk, the yolks, 2 whites foam beaten and the rum. Your gone beat the dough for 30-45 minutes. If the dough is too hard add more warm milk. Put the dough in the middle of the bowl, scatter some flour on top, cover it with some napkins, and leave it for 2 3 hours to grow in a warm place. when the film on top of it started to crack , and the dough is done, cover your hands with butter and start making the cozonac.

From the dough stretch a sheet and on top of it put the stuffing (Stuffing = Boil the water with sugar and then add poppy seeds, vanilla extract and cinnamon ). Put cozonac in a tray covered with butter. Put the tray in warm place for the dough to grow till the tray is full. Grease cozonac with egg and then put it in the preheated oven at moderate fire, almost 1 hour, till they have a nice color. When they are done, let them in the tray for 20 minutes and then take them out and let them chill in a warm place. Enjoy! P.S :It`s my favourite.You must taste it! It`s genuinely mouth-watering.

Bulz ciobanesc (Dumplings with butter and cheese)

Romanian polenta dumplings which can be served as a first course, a snack or as an accompaniment to Ra cu castravei (Duck with cucumbers). These were extremely delicious, but quite tricky to make.

Ingredients

175 g polenta teaspoon salt 6 cubes hard butter measuring 1 cm 6 cubes strong hard cheese such as haloumi, Parmesan or Cheddar measuring 1 cm 50 g butter

1. 300 ml sour cream Put the polenta and salt in a large saucepan with 600 ml water. 2. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 5-8 minutes, still stirring, until the mixture is thick. 3. Pour the mixture onto a plate and leave until completely cold. 4. Divide the mixture into 6 and form each piece into the shape of a fish cake.

5. Place a cube of butter and a cube of cheese in the middle of each, wet your hands and shape each cake into a round dumpling, ensuring that the filling is completely enclosed. 6. Melt the butter in a pan, add the dumplings, rolling them around in the butter and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. 7. Serve with any remaining butter and topped with the sour cream.