appetizers

Chicken liver pate/
Pateu din ficat de pasare

1 goose liver or 2-3 chicken livers, 2 onions or to taste, 5 oz/150 g butter, pickled peppers and cucumbers, 1 hard boiled egg

Cut the onions in quarters. Place into a small saucepan with one tablespoon of butter, the liver and a few tablespoons of water. Cover and let boil until all liquid evaporates. Let cool and then grind the liver and onions. Mix this paste with the rest of the butter until creamy. Add salt, then place on a plate, smoothing the top. Garnish with the pickled peppers and cucumbers and slices of the egg.

To the top


Chicken, jellied/
Piftie de pasare

3 lbs/1,5 kg poultry, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery root, 1 parsnip, 2 bay leaves, 3-4 juniper berries, gelatine as needed, juice from one lemon, salt

Poultry jellies are prepared the same way as pork ones with the exception that you add only as much water as to cover the poultry pieces because they take less to boil. If, after boiling, the liquid is not stickly and gluey, add some gelatine. Divide the meat and place in a few deep plates. Garnish with some thin lemon slices. Strain the liquid and add on top of the meat. Place the plates in a cool place to gel. This recipe can be made with hen, rooster or goose. The tastiest one, though, is that made from turkey meat.

To the top


Cottage cheese with dill/
Urda cu marar

1/2 lb/250 g cottage cheese, 2 oz/50 g butter, 1 tablespoon minced dill, salt

Mix the cheese with the butter and salt until it becomes a paste. Add the minced dill and mix well. Use this to fill sandwiches. You can also serve with green onions.

To the top


Dried beans with mayo/
Fasole boabe cu maioneza

14 oz/400 g dried beans, 1 big onion, salt, pepper, mayo, beets (pickled peppers, cucumbers)

Choose large beans for this recipe. Presoak the night before. The following day, drain and boil. After the first boil, change the water. This time start with warm water. Repeat this three times. The last time add salt. When ready, let cool in the water, then drain completely. Place in a bowl, add a little pepper, a finely chopped onion, salt. Mix with mayo and set in the serving bowl. Garnish with pickled beets, peppers or cucumbers.

To the top


Herring or mackarel pancakes/
Chiftelute din heringi sau scrumbii sarate

2 herrings, 1 egg, 2 crustless slices of white bread, 1 onion, 1 tablespoon parsley and dill, 2 tablespoon oil, bread crumbs

Wash the fish well, slit lengthwise and keep them in tepid water for 5-6 hours. Take out of the water, remove all skin and bones. Then grind together with the raw onion and the bread soaked in milk or water and squeezed of excess liquid. Mix this with the egg, parsley and dill and make pancakes. Cover in bread crumbs and fry in hot oil. Serve hot.

To the top


Herring paste with apples/
Pasta de heringi cu mere

1 big herring, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 big apple, 1 hard boiled egg, lettuce

Slit the fish lengthwise and keep in warm water for 5-6 hours. Then wash, skin and debone the fish. Remove the head and tail but keep them. Chop or grind the fish very fine. Sieve the hard boiled yolk and then mix with butter. Add the ground fish and make a paste. Then add the grated apple and mix some more. Place the paste on a long serving plate and shape it like a fish. Put the head and tail where they belong. Sprinkle the finely chopped egg white on top. Decorate with lettuce leaves placed around the fish paste. You can also use this paste for sandwiches.

To the top


Herring paste with walnuts/
Pasta de heringi cu nuci

1 herring, 12 ground walnuts, 2 crustless slices of white bread soaked in water with a little vinegar, 1/2 grated onion, 1 teaspoon vinegar, 3 tablespoon oil

Wash the fish, skin and debone it. Then grind or chop very fine. Place the fish paste in a bowl and mix with the soaked and squeezed bread, gradully adding the oil. After the oil is used up, add the onion, vinegar, walnuts and mix well. Place the mixture on a long serving plate, shaping like a fish. Put the head and tail where they belong. Keep cold until serving.

To the top


Liver pate with mushrooms/
Pateu de ficat cu ciuperci

1 lb/500 g veal liver, 1 lb/500 g mushrooms, 2 onions, 10 oz/300 g butter, salt, pepper, 1 hard boiled egg, olives (pickled peppers), parsley

Clean, wash and cut the mushrooms in big pieces. On the bottom of a pot, place 2 teaspoons of butter, the quartered onions, the mushrooms, the liver cut in big pieces and two tablespoons of water. Cover and boil over slow heat, shaking the pot from time to time. When there is no liquid left, take off the heat, cool, then grind everything. Place the butter in a bowl and add the ground mixture. Mix until creamy, add salt, pepper and place on a serving plate, smoothing the top. Garnish with slices of egg. On the yolk, place an olive or piece of pickled pepper and a parsley leaf.

To the top


Mosaic bread/
Piine mozaic

5 oz/150 g butter, 5 oz/150 g canned sardines, 5 oz/150 g lean ham, 4 oz/100 g Swiss cheese, 10 olives, 1/2 pickled pepper, 1 small French baguette, 1/2 cup milk

Grind the sardines, 1/3 of the ham and an egg-sized piece of crustless bread, soaked in milk and squeezed dry. Mix everything with the butter until creamy and homogeneous. Cut the rest of the ham, Swiss cheese, olives and pickled pepper in small cubes and mix with the prepared paste. Regrigerate. During this time, cut the heels of the baguette and take the soft bread inside out, leaving about half an inch of bread below the crust. Then fill with the refrigerated paste. Refrigerate. Cut with a very sharp knife in thin slices about half an inch thick. It is better prepared one day in advance. -

To the top


Mushrooms filled with brains/
Ciuperci umplute cu creier

12 stuffing mushrooms, 1/2 veal brain, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon minced parsley, 1 egg, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

Wash and salt the mushrooms. Chop the stems not too fine and fry in 1 1/2 tablespoon of butter until soft. Boil the brain in salted water, remove the membranes, crush with a fork and mix well with the egg. Add the fried mushrooms, parsley, pepper, a little salt to the paste obtained and mix well. Fill the stuffing mushrooms with this mixture. Spread some breadcrumbs and then melted butter on each of them and then place in a buttered dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

To the top


Mushrooms on French toast/
Ciuperci pe friganele

2 lbs/1 kg mushrooms, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon minced dill, 2 tablespoon butter, salt. For French toast: 1 small French baguette, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Wash and chop the mushrooms. Melt some butter in a pan and then fry them with the dill and salt. When ready, take off the heat and add a beaten egg. Mix well. Prepare the French toast and place a thick layer of mushrooms on top of them, smoothing with a knife. Then bake the pancakes for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

To the top


Mushrooms, jellied, with mayo/
Ciuperci cu gelatina si maioneza

2 lbs/1 kg mushrooms, 1 onion, 1 teaspoon butter, gelatine, salt, mayo

Wash and julienne the mushrooms. Place in a pot with a whole onion, one teaspoon of butter and salt. Cover with water and let boil until the mushrooms are soft. Remove the onion and strain. Leave the mushrooms aside and strain again through cheesecloth. Add gelatine to this liquid (one tablespoon of gelatine for each cup). Heat until the gelatine is melted. Place the mushrooms on the bottom of a deep plate (or several smaller molds). Pour the gelatine liquid on top. Strain when pouring. Regrigerate so that it gels. Serve with mayo.

To the top


Peppers filled with cheese/
Ardei grasi umpluti cu brinza

Same quantities as for Tomatoes stuffed with cheese

Wash, dry and core the peppers. Remove all seeds. Then proceed as for Tomatoes stuffed with cheese.

To the top


Pork, jellied/
Piftie de porc

3 lbs/1,5 kg pork feet and/or head, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, 1 parsley root, 1 celery root, 2 bay leaves, 3-4 juniper berries, 3-4 garlic cloves, salt

Wash and clean the feet and/or head. If hairy, singe. Split the feet in two lengthwise and break the head with the mallet. Place in a large pot and cover with water so that there are 3-4 inches of water above the pork pieces. Boil over slow to medium heat. Remove the foam as it forms. Then add salt, vegetables, bay leaves and juniper berries. Cover the pot almost completely. Boil until the meat falls off the bones. Remove the bones and place the meat on the bottom of one or several deep plates. Chop the garlic, add some salt and mix with the meat broth. Strain and then pour on top of the meat in plates. Refrigerate so that it gels. To obtain a nice, clear jelly you have to boil slowly, with the pot almost covered. The tastiest pork jelly is made out of pork feet and ears. You can use beef feet or a mixture of pork and beef feet. Back to Chicken, jellied

To the top


Stuffed eggs/
Oua umplute

6 eggs, 2 oz/60 g butter, 1 teaspoon finely minced parsley, salt, pepper, lettuce

Hard boil the eggs, shell and cut them in two lengthwise after they are cool. Carefully remove the yolks and place them in a bowl. Mix them with the butter. Add parsley, salt and pepper and then use the paste to fill the egg whites. Spread some chopped parsley on top. Arrange the stuffed eggs on a bed of lettuce on a plate.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with cheese/
Oua umplute cu brinza

6 eggs, 1 raw yolk, 2 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoon grated sheep cheese, 1 teaspoon minced dill, salt, dill

Hard boil the eggs and let cool. Shell and cut them in two lengthwise. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl. Mix with butter, adding a raw yolk, the cheese and salt. Fill the whites with this paste. Spread some chopped dill on top. Arrange the stuffed eggs on a platter and decorate with dill sprigs around the eggs.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with fish paste/
Oua umplute cu pasta de peste

6 eggs, 1 teaspoon mustard, 1 tablespoon oil, fish paste to taste, 6 olives, lettuce

Hard boil the eggs and let cool. Shell and cut them in two lengthwise. Remove the yolks and place in a bowl. Mix with the oil poured drop by drop. Add the fish paste and mix. Then add the mustard. Fill the whites and arrange on a plate. On each egg half place half an olive cut to make a flower. Decorate the plate with some lettuce leaves.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with mayo/
Oua umplute cu maioneza

6 eggs, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon sour cream, salt, pepper, mayo, pickled peppers (olives), lettuce

Hard boil the eggs, shell and let cool. Cut in half crosswise, remove the yolks and place them in a bowl. Mix the yolks with the butter and sour cream. Add salt and pepper. Fill each egg half and arrange filled side down on a plate on which you previously put mayo. On top of each egg, place a piece of pickled pepper or olive, cut to make a flower. Decorate around the eggs with chopped lettuce.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with mustard/
Oua umplute cu mustar

6 eggs, 2 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon mustard, 1 tablespoon minced dill, 1 tablespoon sugar, salt, 6 olives

Hard boil the eggs, shell and let cool. Cut in two lengthwise. Remove the yolks and mix them with the oil poured drop by drop. Add the salt, sugar, mustard and the chopped dill. Fill each white half with this paste and garnish each with half an olive.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with sour cream sauce I/
Oua umplute cu sos de smintina I

12 slices French baguette, a little lard, 6 eggs, 2 tablespoon sour cream, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 small onion, salt, pepper. For sauce: 1 tablespoon flour, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 cup chicken stock, 2 egg yolks, 1 tablespoon minced dill, 2 tablespoon milk, salt

Hard boil the eggs, let cool, shell and cut in two lengthwise. Remove the yolks, put them in a bowl, crush them and mix with the onion which was previously sauted in a tablespoon of butter. Let cool, add the sour cream, salt and pepper. Fill the egg halves with this paste. Fry each baguette slice in lard, then remove the soft bread, leaving the crusts intact. Replace the bread taken out with the stuffed egg half. Place on a platter and pour the hot sauce on top. Sauce: Fry the flour with the butter for a short time, add the stock and let boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the yolks, mixing with a spoon, then add the milk, dill and salt.

To the top


Stuffed eggs with sour cream sauce II/
Oua umplute cu sos de smintina II

6 eggs, 1 raw yolk, 1 crustless slice of white bread soaked in milk, 1 teaspoon butter, 1 finely chopped and sauted in butter onion, finely minced parsley and dill, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs, lettuce. For sauce: 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon flour.

Hard boil the eggs, let cool, shell and then cut in two lengthwise. Remove the yolks. Place the yolks in a bowl and mix with the butter, raw yolk, bread, parsley and dill. At the end, add the onion, salt and pepper. Fill the egg halves with this mixture so as to resemble one whole egg. Toss with breadcrumbs and fry in butter. After they are ready, place in a pan and pour the sour cream well mixed with the flour on top. Let boil at slow heat. Serve warm, on a plate decorated with lettuce.

To the top


Tomatoes stuffed with cheese/
Rosii umplute cu brinza

1 lb/500 g tomatoes, 4 oz/100 g butter, 1 tablespoon minced dill, a few big tomatoes, salt. Back to Peppers filled with cheese

Drain the cheese well and mix with the butter and salt. Choose firm and round tomatoes, cut a slice on top and remove the inside with all the seeds. Fill with the cheese mixture, then spread a little dill on top. Refrigerate. Back to Peppers filled with cheese.

To the top


Tomatoes stuffed with eggplant/
Rosii umplute cu vinete

1 big eggplant, 2 onions, 3 tablespoon oil, tomatoes, salt, pepper, parsley

Bake the eggplant, let it drain well, and chop with a wooden or glass chopper. Set in a bowl and mix with the oil poured little by little. Add finely chopped onion, salt and pepper. Choose small and firm tomatoes and remove the inside with all the seeds. Fill with the eggplant mixture, then place all stuffed tomatoes on a platter and decorate them with a sprig of parsley for each tomato. You can also use stuffing peppers instead of tomatoes.

To the top


Tomatoes stuffed with vegetables/
Rosii umplute cu zarzavat

3 boiled potatoes, 2 carrots, 1 parsnip, 1 celery root, 2-3 tablespoon peas (optional), 1 chopped onion, mayo, tomatoes, salt, lettuce

Boil all the vegetables except the onion, tomatoes and lettuce. Let cool then cube everything and mix with the chopped onion and salt. Mix the vegetables with mayo and then stuff the tomatoes from which the insides have been removed, with the mixture. Refrigerate. When serving, place them on a bed of chopped lettuce.