Lenten Dishes

Lent is a 40-day period before Easter characterised by prayer and fasting. Staple Lenten dishes include sauerkraut, prunes, potatoes and other spring vegetables such as sorrel, orach, nettle and leeks.

Ștefan Baciu, 16.03.2014, 14:35

Lent is a 40-day period before Easter characterised by prayer and fasting. Staple Lenten dishes include sauerkraut, prunes, potatoes and other spring vegetables such as sorrel, orach, nettle and leeks.

Because the weather is still cold, many spring vegetables haven’t grown yet, so people have to use a lot of pantry ingredients, such as potatoes, beans, sauerkraut, as well as rice. You can use rice to make a delicious prune dish, or as filling for stuffed vine leaves or stuffed cabbage. Rice can also be used to make vegetable pilau.

Sauerkraut soup is a common Lenten dish in Romania, but is also used as part of slimming diets. Here’s the recipe.

You need a whole sauerkraut head of about 2 kilos, which you have to rinse before chopping into small pieces. You also need two onions, two carrots and tomato juice or paste. Slice the onions and the carrots. Add the cabbage and bring everything to a boil, long enough for the cabbage to become tender. At the end, add tomato juice or tomato sauce. Enjoy!