Outdoor summer recipes

Recipes cooked outdoors in big cast-iron pots good to feed a crowd at festival and outdoor events or at home.

Ștefan Baciu, 02.08.2019, 18:08

The Feast Day of
St Elijah on the 20th of July traditionally marks the middle of
pastoral summer. Around this date, shepherds used to come down to their village
for the first time since taking their flocks up to the mountain pastures in
spring. Village festivals and fairs would thus be held on this occasion that
would last several days, a custom that has still been preserved today in some
regions in Romania. In Apuseni Mountains in the west, the so-called girls’ fair
is held on Mount Gaina, while in Gorj, in the south, a festival called nedeia
is held in Polovragi. Another custom related to the Feast of St Elijah is the
first harvesting of the honey by beekeepers, which is usually followed by a
celebration with much singing and dancing.

Naturally,
summer is the season with the largest number of outdoor festivals, events where
traditional music is played and people enjoy themselves together with their
families and friends. The cooking at such festivals and fairs is usually made
using big cast iron pots. Meat stews with lots of vegetables and fried chicken
are some of the most widespread recipes cooked in this way. The latter dish is
both easy to make and delicious. What you need is one or two chickens which you
then chop in small pieces and season with salt and pepper. Paprika is also used
in Transylvania, owing to the influence of Hungarian cuisine. The chicken
pieces are then placed in a cast iron pot placed on a fire pit. Oil or lard is
poured into the pot, enough to cover the chicken. It won’t take long for the
meet to cook. This dish is usually served warm with polenta and garlic sauce.

Another
traditional dish commonly made at outdoor festivals and fairs, especially in
the Gorj area, is the mutton stew. It is also cooked in a cast iron pot hung
above an open fire. The shepherds from the Gorj area recommend that the fire be
made using wood gathered from the forest. This stew can also be made, however,
at home, on the hob, but preferably in a cast iron pot. The recipe involves
mutton, leg or ribs, a few onions and some dried red peppers. At this point we
must explain that in Oltenia, in southern Romania, it is common to leave a
variety of red peppers to dry. These peppers, called raci in Romanian, and
which are very sweet, are used in a variety of dishes. To go back to our mutton
stew, you also need some black peppercorns, one or two laurel leaves and
several allspice corns. To cook this dish, you first need to put some lard in
the hot pot and let it melt, followed by the pieces of mutton and a bit of
water. Let everything boil on a low heat until the meat starts coming off the
bone. You then remove the bones and add the finely sliced onion and the finely
chopped peppers, as well as the rest of the spices. The meat will fry gently on
a low heat. Salt is added towards the end. This stew is best served with
polenta, pickles and red wine. Enjoy!