Meat Stew

Each of Romania’s historical provinces has its own specific cuisine. If we were to look at Moldavia, for instance, we cannot overlook the traditional pan-fried minced meat patties or the famous sweet or salty cheese pies called “poale-n brau”.

România Internațional, 02.02.2014, 14:27

Each of Romania’s historical provinces has its own specific cuisine. If we were to look at Moldavia, for instance, we cannot overlook the traditional pan-fried minced meat patties or the famous sweet or salty cheese pies called “poale-n brau”.

To give you a sample of Romanian traditional cuisine, our suggestion for today’s show is a recipe for Transylvanian stew. Unlike the stew specific for other Romanian provinces, the Transylvanian recipe includes sour cream among the ingredients. You will need 1 kilogram of chicken, 2 or 3 onions, several garlic cloves, 1 carrot, parsley, celery and some sour cream. In summertime you can optionally add two bell peppers and several tomatoes, but in wintertime you will have to make do with canned tomato juice or homemade tomato paste. If you use chicken breast, cut it in small cubes, if you want a whole chicken, cut it into 6 or 8 portions. Slice the onion julienne and sweat it in sunflower oil. Add the chopped carrots, the meat and garlic cloves and leave to simmer over low heat. Add the tomato juice or paste and two celery leaves for a special flavour. You can optionally add salt and pepper to taste and leave to boil for another couple of minutes. Put it on a plate and place some sour cream on top of it, then serve it with polenta.

The difference between the Transylvanian and Moldavian stew is that the latter uses pork and instead of chicken and does not use sour cream. Potatoes are also an important part of this dish. The preparation manner is similar to the one we’ve just presented, with the only difference that potatoes are also added to the mix. The Moldavian stew is traditionally served in clay casseroles along with a dry white wine. Enjoy!