Â
Romania
Romanian Menu Starter: Eggplant Salad. Soup: Bean Soup with Smoked Pork Leg (Smoked ham). Main course: Polenta with Mushroom Stew. Dessert: Bird’s Milk.
STARTER - Eggplant salad Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes, 4 servings
• • • • •
2 bowls wooden spoon wooden knife wooden platter whisk or fork
• • • •
4 medium eggplants 1 onion, chopped finely salt and pepper to taste mayonnaise - sunflower oil, - 2 yolks, lemon
PREPARATION
The eggplants are grilled until they are covered with black ash crust. The crust is cleaned off and the remaining cooked eggplant is mashed with a thick wooden knife on a wooden platter. The eggplant mash is mixed in a bowl, stirring continuously, with mayonnaise, chopped onions and salt.
Mayonnaise can be made by hand with a whisk or wooden spoon, or with the aid of an electric mixer or blender. Mayonnaise is made by slowly adding oil to a hard boiled and a raw yolk, while whisking vigorously to disperse the oil. A bit of a mustard or lemon juice may also be added to sharpen its taste, and further stabilize the emulsion.
BEANS SOUP WITH SMOKED PORK LEG (SMOKED HAM) INGREDIENTS: 2 MEDIUM PIECES OF SMOKED PORK LEG OR HAM, 400GR OF BEANS, 2 ONIONS, GARLIC, PEPPER, SALT, PARSLEY LEAVES, TOMATO SAUCE, OIL, RED PEPPER, LAUREL LEAVES, 4 SPOONS OF CREAM TOOLS: A BIG POT FOR THE SMOKED HAM. A MEDIUM POT FOR THE BEANS, KNIVES AND A WOODEN SPOON
PREPARATION: Wash all the ingredients. Put the beans in the medium pot. Add enough water to cover the beans and let it boil. Meanwhile put the smoked ham in the big pot to boil, too. Add to the boiling water 2 laurel leaves. Don’t forget to add salt into the water. Chop the onions and fry / anneal them in spoonful oil. Add to the fried onion the chopped red pepper and the tomato sauce. When the beans are ready, drain the water and add them to the fried onion. Add the chopped parsley leaves and some pepper. Chop the garlic into small pieces and add it to the baked beans. When the smoked ham is done remove the foam from the water and add the baked beans to the water to get a delicious soup. At the end add the cream to the soup and let all the ingredients boil for 3 more minutes.
POLENTA WITH MUSHROOM STEW INGREDIENTS: 1KG OF FRESH MUSHROOMS, 400 GR OF CORN FLOUR, SOME SALT, WHITE PEPPER, CREAM, 2 ONIONS, GARLIC, OIL, PARSLEY LEAVES TOOLS: A MEDIUM POT FOR THE MUSHROOMS, A BIGGER POT FOR THE POLENTA, KNIVES, WOODEN SPOON, WHISK.
PREPARATION: Wash the mushrooms carefully and peel them. Scald them in salty water. BE CAREFUL! The mushrooms boil very quickly. When they are ready chop them into medium pieces. In the meantime chop the onions, too and fry / anneal them into hot oil. When the onion is fried add to it the chopped mushrooms. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon. Add some salt and white pepper. Add the cream on the mushrooms. Also add some chopped parsley leaves and a little bit of chopped garlic. Mix them together and after a few minutes remove the pot from the stove. POLENTA – boil 2 liters of salty water. Add the 400 gr. of corn flour gradually and stir it continuously with the whisk to avoid it to become lumpy. Simmer it for 10 minutes. BE CAREFUL! The hot polenta can burn your skin if you are not careful enough. Place the polenta and the mushroom stew on a flat plate and serve it with pickles.
HALF A LITRE OF MILK
BIRD’S MILK – DESSERT
PREPARATION TIME: 40’ 2 SERVINGS DIFFICULTY: EASY
Preparation: 1. Boil the milk together with a teaspoon of sugar in a pan. 2. Mix the yolk with the rest of the sugar, the vanilla and the flour. 3. Add the peel of an orange, too. 4. Beat the white foam with the mixer in a bowl. 5. When the milk is hot, take a spoonful of the white foam and leave it in the milk for a minute. Take the “balls” out from the milk and place them on a plate to drain.
PAN
6. Remove the milk from the stove and let it cool a little bit. 7. Add the yolk to the lukewarm milk and put it back on the stove. Stir continuously until the mixture hardens a little bit (it needs to become creamy). 8. When it is ready put the mixture in an ice cream cup and add the white foam on top. Sprinkle it with a little cinnamon.
SPOON
PLATE
BOWL
MIXER