COMENIUS MULTILATERAL SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

The T.E.D. 2013-2015

(Travelling Teds’ European Discoveries)

2

3

COMENIUS MULTILATERAL SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

The T.E.D. 2013-2015

(Travelling Teds’ European Discoveries)

This project has been funded with the support of the European Commission. This publication

reflects the views only of the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any

use which may be made of the information contained therein

4

5

”...you rise from flour, water and fire.

Dense or light, flattened or round…

How simple, you are, bread,

and how profound!

...And we will also share with one another

whatever has the shape and the flavor of bread:

all taste like bread and have its shape, ….

Everything exists to be shared,

to be freely given

to multiply."

( from Ode to Bread

6

7

This cookbook represents the final product of the Comenius Multilateral Project “The T.E.D.- Teds’ Travelling European Discoveries” 2013-2015. It is the result of working on the food unit. Step by step:

“Survey. What are our favourite meals?”- every child in each school mentioned their own favourite dinner/lunch and the results were selected in a Top ten in each school for exchanging and looking for commonalities.

History of food. Children interviewed 3 generations about what they ate/eat and, then, they looked at changes in diet and why.

Healthy Eating. Children kept a food diary for a week and compared results with the food pyramid.

And “Dulcis in fundo”… the Cookbook.

Each school created a dinner/lunch menu of traditional food. Students cooked in groups and took pictures of their cooking session.

So, this cookbook collects typical recipes of national dishes from 7 European countries: Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania.

This project has been funded with the support of the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of

the author and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained

therein.

8

9

Denmark

10

11

Danish cooking

is known by the open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and decorated with a variety of fine ingredients. Hot meals are traditionally prepared from ground meats, such as frikadeller (meat balls) and medisterpølse, or from more substantial meat and fish dishes such as flæskesteg (roast pork with crackling) or kogt torsk (poached cod) with mustard sauce and trimmings. Cooking in Denmark has always been inspired by foreign and continental practises and the use of imported tropical spices like cinnamon, cardamom, can be traced to the Danish cuisine of the middle ages and perhaps even the Vikings.

12

For the base

300g strong bread flour

25g yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

For the tomato sauce

100ml tomato on a can

1 tsb fresh or dried basil

1 garlic clove, crushed

For the topping

100g bacon or ham

125g ball mozzarella, sliced or a handful grated or shaved parmesan

Make the base:

Put the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the yeast and salt. Make a well, pour in

200ml warm water and the olive oil and bring together with a wooden spoon until you

have a soft, fairly wet dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5

mins until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and set aside.

Make the sauce:

Mix the passata, basil and crushed garlic together, then season to taste. Leave to stand

at room temperature while you get on with shaping the base.

Roll out the dough:

If you’ve let the dough rise, give it a quick knead, then split into two balls. On a

floured surface, roll out the dough into large rounds, about 25cm across, using a roll-

ing pin. The dough needs to be very thin as it will rise in the oven. Lift the rounds onto

two floured baking sheets.

Top and bake:

Heat oven to 240C/fan 220C /gas 8.

Put a baking sheet on a baking tray.

Smooth sauce over bases with

the back of a spoon. Scatter with

bacon/ham and finally the

cheese. Put the pizza in the oven

and bake it for 8-10 minutes

until crisp.

Pizza

13

INGREDIENTS

500 grams of ground pork/veal

1 medium sized onion, fine

chopped

1 x-large egg or two small eggs

1/3 cup of milk

2 table spoons of flour

salt & pepper

Stir everything together in a bowl. Depending on the ground meat you may

have to add a little more flour or a litle more milk.

The mix has to be firm enough to be able to form the meat balls with a table-

spoon.

Heat up your frying pan and add a little oil or butter. Form the meat balls

and fry them approximately 5-7 minutes on each side, depending on the

size of them.

The traditional sides for Danish meat balls are peeled and boiled potatos,

steamed cauliflower, carrots and brussel sprouts, but any vegetable of the

season will do.

Danish meatballs

14

INGREDIENTS

135g (4¾ oz) salted butter

55g (2oz) cocoa powder

350g (12oz) granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

110g (3¾ oz) plain flour

3 eggs

TO FINISH

2 tbsp icing sugar, for dusting.

Preheat the oven to 180° C

(350°F/Gas

Grease a deep 18cm

(7in) cake tin, line

the base with a circle of

baking parchment.

Melt the butter in a

medium saucepan. Re-

move from the heat

and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and

bake for 20-30 minutes – it should be set around the edges but still gooey in the mid-

dle.

Let the cake cool in its tin for about 20 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the in-

side edge of the tin to loosen it. Turn out on to a wire rack, dust with icing sugar and

serve warm.

Chocolate-cake

15

Bye Bye,!! Magnus from Denamrk

16

17

Finland

18

19

FINNISH FOOD

is traditionally quite simple, healthy and mild.

The most common Finnish dishes are perhaps

macaroni casserole, pea soup, salmon and sau-

sages.

Finns are also said to eat a lot of potatoes.

Breakfast usually includes porridge, rye bread,

yoghurt, juice and fruit.

Rice filled Karelian pasties are a popular

snack.

We also eat a lot of berries and mushrooms, as

our forests are full of them.

A typical Finnish treat is a cinnamon bun

called “korvapuusti” which literally translated

means “ear slap”.

20

Salmon sandwich

INGREDIENTS:

cold-smoked salmon 100 g

-pealed shrimps 100 g

-a small bunch of dill

-2 onions

-3 hard-boiled eggs

-mustard 2 tbl

-1 grated nutmeg spice measure

-mayonese 1 ½ dl

-chili sauce 2-3 tbl

-sour cream ½ dl

-salt

-ground white pepper

-bread 4 slice

-butter

-whitefish roe 50 g

Drink : butter milk

21

Roasted Reindeer

with Mashed potatoes and

Lingonberry jam

INGREDIENTS:

-roasted reindeer meat 750 g

-butter 100 g

-1 onion

-salt, black pepper

1 kg potaotes

2 dl milk

2 tbl butter

k

g

Fry meat in a pan with butter and chopped onion until brown.

Add spices and water. Let simmer for 1,5-2 hours.

Peel and boil potatoes. Mash

the potatoes and mix them

with milk and butter. Add

salt to taste. Serve with

mashed potatoes and

lingonberry jam

22

Blueberry pie

INGREDIENTS:

1,5 dl sugar

4 tls vanilla sugar

3 dl flour

1,5 tls baking powder

1 egg

2 dl butter milk

Heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Mix sugar, vanilla sugar, flour and baking powder in a bowl.

Add egg, butter milk and melted margarine and mix lightly

to make the batter smooth.

Pour mix into a buttered baking pan and add blueberries

on top.

Bake for 30 minutes and serve with vanilla sauce and

cold milk!

23

Bye Bye !!

Otso from Finland

24

25

Hungary

26

27

Hungarian cooking

Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh

bread, dairy products and cheeses.

Hungarians are especially passionate about their

meat stews, casseroles, steaks, roasted pork, beef, poultry, lamb and game. The mixing of

different varieties of meats is a traditional feature of Hungarian cuisine.

Goulash, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, and Fatányéros(Hungarian mixed grill on a

wooden platter) are all dishes that can combine beef and pork, and sometimes

mutton. Goulash is a stew with more gravy or a soup using meat with bones, paprika,

caraway, vegetables (typically carrots and parsley root) and potatoes or various tiny

dumplings or pasta simmered with the meat. Other famous Hungarian meat stews

include paprikás, a paprika stew with meat simmered in thick creamy paprika gravy,

and pörkölt, a Hungarian stew with boneless meat (usually beef or pork), onion, and

sweetpaprika powder, both served with nokedli (small dumplings). Hungarian sausages

(kolbász) and winter salami are a major part of Hungarian cuisine.

Other characteristics of Hungarian cuisine are the soups, desserts, and pastries and

stuffed crepes (palacsinta), with fierce rivalries between regional variations on the same

dish (such as the Hungarian hot fish soup called Fisherman's Soup or halászlé, cooked

differently on the banks of Hungary's two main rivers: the Danube and

the Tisza), palacsinta (pancakes served flambéed in dark chocolate sauce filled with ground

walnuts) and Dobos Cake (layered sponge cake, with chocolate buttercream filling and

topped with a thin slice of caramel).

Two remarkable elements of Hungarian cuisine that are hardly noticed by locals, but usually

elicit much enthusiasm from foreigners, are different forms of

vegetable stews called főzelék as well as cold fruit soups, such as cold sour cherry

soup (Hungarian: hideg meggyleves).

Hungarian cuisine uses a large variety of cheeses, but the most common are túró (a type

of quark), cream cheeses, ewe-cheese (juhturó), Emmentaler, Edam and the Hungarian

cheeses Trappista, Pálpusztai and Pannonia cheese.

Hungarian food is often spicy, due to the common use of hot paprika. Sweet (mild)

paprika is also common. Additionally, the combination of paprika, lard and yellow

onions is typical of Hungarian cuisine, and the use of the thick sour cream called tejföl.

28

Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 fat hen, disjointed (5 lbs.)

About 3 to 4 qts. Water

4 carrots, whole

1 parsley root and greens

1 onion

Wedge of cabbage

1/2 green pepper

2 or 3 pieces celery

1 sm. tomato when in season

1 kohlrabi when in season

2 tbsp. salt

1 tbsp. whole black pepper

Instructions:

Cook chicken in water; skim top very

carefully when starting to boil.

Skim 2 or 3 times to make clear soup.

Add all the vegetables, salt and pepper.

Cook under low flame until chicken is

tender.

Strain and serve with homemade noodles

or store bought or liver dumpling.

29

Hortobágy Pancake

Ingredients:

filling:

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

2 Garlic cloves, crushed

500g Beef mince

1 tbsp Soy sauce

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp Sour cream

sauce:

1½ tsp Sweet paprika

300ml Sour cream

1 tsp Plain flour

½ Beef stock cube

½ tsp Caster sugar

1 Clove

½ tsp Fresh thyme leaves

1 Green pepper, in matchsticks

Instructions:

Whether homemade or bought, set your pan-

cakes aside in a warm place.

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan and fry the

crushed garlic for a minute. Add the beef

mince, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce;

spice. Brown the meat well. Drain the juices in-

to another pan, then stir the sour cream in

with the meat.

Place 2–3 tbsp meat mixture in the centre of a pancake. Fold up the pancake

at both ends and roll it up to make it about the size of a pack of cards. Keep

warm.

Stir the paprika into the meat juices in the second pan. Beat the sour cream

together with the flour, and slowly add over a low heat to make a rich pink

sauce. Dissolve the stock cube in 150ml water and add to the sauce with the

sugar, clove and thyme. The paprika will need 10–15 minutes over a low heat to

amalgamate properly. Spice. Finally, remove the clove. Serve the pancakes

with the sauce ready to pour over them, and with the green pepper on the

side as a garnish.

30

Coconut biscuit balls

Ingredients:

50dkg ground biscuits

2 dl cherry juice

rum flavour

2 tablespoon of cacao

½ dl coffee

15 dkg icing sugar

2 packets of vanilla sugar

some milk

Instructions:

We mix the ingredients and add the coffee and cherry

juice, and we knead it. If necessary, we add some milk

to make it a mixture. Then we form small balls and we

put the balls into shredded coconut. It can be made

very fast and

it’s very

delicious.

31

Bye Bye!!!

Boribon from Hungary

32

33

Ireland

34

35

Irish cooking

is a style of cooking originating from Ireland and developed

by Irish people. The cuisine takes its influence from the crops

grown and animals farmed in its temperate climate.

The introduction of the potato in the second half of the 16th cen-

tury heavily influenced Ireland's cuisine thereafter and, as a re-

sult, is often closely associated with Ireland. Representative

Irish dishes include Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, coddle,

and colcannon.

Potatoes form the basis for many traditional Irish dishes.

As a food source, the potato is extremely valuable and the potato

is also a good source of many vitamins and minerals, particular-

ly vitamin C when fresh.

Potatoes were also fed to pigs, to fatten them prior to their

slaughter at the approach of the cold winter months. Much of the

slaughtered pork would have been cured to provide ham and bacon

that could be stored over the winter.

These dishes would have been traditionally served quite regularly

in homes all over Ireland,

We love the fresh flavours of the meat, potatoes and vegetables

and we hope you enjoy them too.

36

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

150g piece salty back bacon

8 fat, traditional pork sausages

2 carrots, peeled and finely sliced

250g white potatoes, finely sliced

Salt and pepper

Dublin Coddle

In a large frying pan or skillet, heat the oil, add the onions and cook on a me-

dium heat for about 4 minutes. Cut the bacon piece into ½"/1 cm cubes. Add

the bacon to the onions and stir well. Cut the sausages in half and add these

to the onion and bacon.

Raise the heat and stirring constantly, cook until the sausages start to brown

taking care not to burn the onions.

In a heat proof casserole, place a layer of the onion, bacon and sausage mix-

ture followed by the layer of sliced carrots and then a layer of potato. Sea-

son with salt and pepper. Repeat the layering until ingredients used up, fin-

ishing with a layer of potato.

Carefully pour over the stock. Cover with a lid or a

double layer of aluminium foil. Place in the cen-

tre of a preheated oven 200 °C oven and cook

for 30 minutes. Take a peek to make sure the

coddle isn't drying out (if necessary top up with

a little boiling water but don't make it too run-

ny).

Lower the oven heat to 175°C/gas 4 and cook for a further 30 minutes until

bubbling and the potatoes are cooked through.

Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

37

Bacon , cabbage, carrots and

potatoes. Ingredients

900g of Shoulder of bacon

1/2 head of savoy cabbage,

sliced finely

2 carrots, chopped

2 tablespoons of butter

A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper

Creamy Leek and Parsley Sauce:

2 tablespoons of butter (a generous knob)

2 tablespoons of flour

2 large leeks, sliced finely

100-150ml bacon stock

1 teaspoon of mustard

A good handful of parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh cream

Remove the bacon from any packaging and place in a pot of cold water over

heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 1 hour or until

cooked. Remove from the water, place on a plate and set aside. Save the ba-

con stock.

To make the creamy leek and parsley sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pot and

sweat the leeks until soft but not coloured. Add the flour, mixing to combine,

then add a little of the bacon stock stirring until the sauce thickens. Season

with salt and pepper. When you have the consistency you require stir through

the chopped parsley and tablespoon of cream.To cook the vegetables, add the

cabbage and carrots to the pot containing the bacon water and allow to wilt

down slowly, checking every now and then until cabbage become tender.

Serve the bacon in slices topped with mashed potatoes, the creamy leek and

parsley sauce alongside the cabbage and carrots. Enjoy.

38

Irish Stew Ingredeints

2 tablespoon rapeseed oil

1 kg lamb shoulder, trimmed

and cut into 2.5cm chunks

2 onions, peeled and roughly

chopped

3 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced

1 bay leaf

4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 litre beef or lamb stock

900 g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm slices

good knob of butter

sea salt and ground black pepper

slices of white bread, to serve

Place a large, flameproof casserole pot over a high heat, add 1 tablespoon of

the oil and brown the lamb pieces in two batches. Remove and set aside on a

plate. Reduce the heat to medium–high, add another

tablespoon of oil and fry the onion, celery and carrot

for 4–6 minutes or until the onions have softened.

Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F/Gas 3). Return the

meat to the pot, along with the bay leaf and stock, sea-

son with sea salt and ground black pepper and bring to

the boil. Remove from the heat and push the slices of

potato down into and across the top of the stew, dot with a little butter

and give a final seasoning of sea salt and ground black pepper. Cover and place

in the oven to cook for about 1½ hours or until the meat is tender, then remove

the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes until the potatoes have coloured.

You can serve the stew straight away or leave it covered overnight in the

fridge for the flavours to develop. Serve in deep bowls with slices of white

bread to soak up the liquid.

39

Bye Bye!! Paddy from Ireland

40

41

Italy

42

43

ITALIAN COOKING is an alchemy of flavours...

It is combines the health benefits of Mediterranean Diet

with a wide choice of seasonal ingredients from each Italian

region: fresh ingredients, cooked on the spot, and a combi-

nation of tasty vegetables, grains, meat, seafood, fruit and

oil of olive. In this cookbook, you can read about three

recipes.

The “Cavatelli alla molisana”(a traditional pasta of Molise

region) are made with durum wheat semolina and water,

sometimes even potatoes.The traditional recipe wants them

served with pork sauce, in particular on 17th of January,

the day of Saint Antonio Abate, or spigatelli and minced

meat.

The “Cotoletta” meat is also at the center of a controversy

between Italians and Austrians. Austrians think of it as a ver-

sion of the Wiener Schnitzel, as suggested by marshal Ra-

detzsky himself.

The “Tiramisù” is one of the most famous Italian sweets.

Some regions in North Italy contend for its origin. A pastry

chef working in a restaurant in Treviso wanted to reproduce

some sweets he saw in Germany: he claimed that the first

recipe originated from the sbatud`ın, based on whipped egg

yolks mixed with sugar and mild cream cheese. The Veneto

word for it is tirames `u, later italianized in “tiramisu”.

44

Ingredients

For the dough

1kg flour

Water

salt

For Ragù

400gm coarsely ground lean pork and pork sausages

1 chopped onion

1 carrot diced

½ celery end diced

1kg tomato peeled (canned)

dry red wine

Oil of extra vergine olive

salt

Place the oil in a thick base large stainless

steal saucepot, stir and cook over low flame,

add the onion, the carrot and celery and keep

cooking until the vegetables start to soften

and get some colour.

Raise the flame to very high and add the

ground pork meats with salt and mixed well.

Keep cooking and stirring with a wooden spoon until the meat is well done.

Pour in the wine and keep cooking until the wine has evaporated.

Process briefly the peeled tomatoes in the food mill and add to the pot and

continue cooking slowly over a low flame for at least 1-2 hours.

Cavatelli alla Molisana

45

Put the flour and salt onto a wooden board or in a large bowl.

Make a well in the centre and slowly

pour in the water, mixing as you go

to incorporate the flour . You may

need to add a little extra water if

the dough is too stiff or dry..

Knead for 3–4 minutes or until it

comes together in a smooth ball. Add

a little extra flour if it feels a bit

sticky.

Cut the dough into 6–8 pieces (or more) and roll each piece into a

long log about 5 mm thick, then cut into 1 cm pieces.

Working with one piece of pasta at a time, use your index finger to

push it down then drag it towards you to roll your cavatelli and cre-

ate a slit in the middle, essential for trapping the sauce.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, drop in the

cavatelli and cook for 7 minutes or until perfectly al dente.

Drain, place the cavatelli in this sauce: and warm over medium heat

for 1 minute,

46

COTOLETTA Veal/chicken breast cutlets

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

olive oil to fry

1 lemon, quartered

Using a sharp knife, trim any fat from the cutlets and remove the

membranes. Use your hands or meat mallet to flatten the cutlets a

little — around 1cm is a nice thickness for this dish.

Spread some breadcrumbs in a bowl. Season cutlets generously with

salt and pepper. Submerge cutlets in beaten egg and toss in bread-

crumb. Using your hands, push breadcrumbs into meat.

Heat oil of olive in a large pan. Once it begins to crackle, add the

cutlets. Cook on both sides until breadcrumbs are golden.

Drain on paper towel. Serve with lemon quarters.

47

Ingredients

400 gr Savoiardi biscuits

3 eggs ( at room temperature)

300 gr. Mascarpone cheese

6 tablespoons of Sugar

6 cups of espresso coffee (slightly

sweentened)

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (dust)

Salt

Prepare the coffee. Add a tablespoon of sugar in a small bowl and let cool.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Whip the egg yolks and

6 tablespoons of sugar until creamy.

Then, add the beaten egg whites until stiff (add a pinch of salt to

egg whites to facilitate mounted) mixing from bottom to top so as not

to remove the compound. Then, add the Mascarpone cheese little by little.

Dip the Savoiardi ladyfingers quickly

into the coffee and arrange in

a layer in the bottom of a pan, alternat-

ing layers of cream.

At the end sprinkle with cocoa powder.

Let rest a few hours in the fridge be-

fore serving.

Tiramisù

48

49

Bye Bye!!

Lea from Italy

50

51

Portugal

52

53

PORTUGUESE COOKING

The basis of Mediterranean cuisine, based on the tril-

ogy of bread, wine and oil, is repeated throughout the

portuguese territory, adding to it the vegetables, as in

varied soups, and fresh fruit.

The meat and offal, especially pork, also comprise a

set of dishes and regional costums, which brings out

the hams and sausages.

With the advent of discoveries, the Portuguese cui-

sine quickly integrated the use, sometimes almost

excessive, spices and sugar, and other products,

such as beans and potatoes, which were adopted as

essential products.

54

Ingredients

1 onion

1 spicy sausage

2 cloves garlic

2 liters of water

200 ml of olive oil

400 g of cabbage to cut

500 g of potatoes

Boil the water with: potatoes, onion, garlic cloves and half of the

amount of olive oil. Season with salt and

cook for 30 minutes. You can boil more time

if you want the soup to thicken.

Meanwhile, prepare the cabbage, washing

it and cutting it very thin.

After the cooking, reduce the potatoes, onion and the garlic cloves

into puree. Add the cabbage and cook about 15 minutes.

Cut the spicy sausage into slices.

Add the remaining olive oil and spicy sausage, and let it cook for 2

minutes.

Sopa de caldo

55

Grilled sardines with Portuguese corn bread

Ingredients

For sardines

6 sardines

Salt

1 red pepper

1 clove of garlic

For corn bread

1 kg of wheat flour

1 kg of corn meal

50 g salt

100 g of baker's yeast

1.5 l of water

Season the fish salt to taste. Make the fire and only place the fish

to grill when the fire is already soft. Let the sardines grill for

2 minutes on each side.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC.

Put all ingredients in a bowl

and knead until dough is smooth.

Cut them into pieces of 500 g and make balls with the dough.

Let them rest for ten minutes covered with a plastic.

Ten minutes later make small balls again

with the dough and place them at a floured tray.

56

Pastel de Nata Ingredients

600 g puff pastry;

6 egg yolks;

120 g sugar;

3 dl of cream;

Powdered cinnamon;

Powdered sugar;

Margarine for greasing

Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

Extend the puff pastry; grease the pie tin well with the margarine,

and put the pastry into the pie tins cutting the excess around.

In a pan, add the cream with the sugar and the egg yolks. Mix every-

thing very well with a wooden spoon or a wire rod.

Bake this mixture over a low heat, always stirring with the wire rod,

until it begins to bubble.

Distribute the cream by the pie tins and bake them in the hot oven.

Let the pies until they are browned. Take from the oven and leave

them to cool slightly.

57

Bye Bye!! Tobias from Portugal

58

59

Romania

60

61

ROMANIAN

COOKING. Romania lies at a crossroads in Europe and it is easy to reach from any cardinal point. The country’s

harmonious relief consisting of plains, hills and mountains, its natural resources made Romania at-

tractive since ancient times for both visitors and invaders.

For 276 years Romania was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and for about 50 years Transylva-

nia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In Transylvania the Saxons came from the Rhine and Moselle regions of Northern Europe in the 12th

century. They were brought here by a Hungarian king to defend the borders of Transylvania against

Turks’ and Tartars’ attacks and lived together with the Romanian population for 850 years.

Throughout its history Romania has been influenced by the neighbouring cultures and the Romanian

recipes bear the same influences being a blend of different dishes, German, Hungarian, Turkish, Rus-

sian, but also maintaining its own character and made Romanian dishes delicious.

The seasons generally influence the food served, as well as the Christian holidays.

Romanian National Dishes

1.Easter dishes

After the 48 days of fasting before Easter, when no meat is allowed, Romanian dishes are very rich

and include: Easter eggs, salads with mayonnaise, Filled eggs (with a pasta made of yolks, mustard,

mayonnaise, salt and pepper), lamb specialities like Drob (Haggis), Lamb sour broth, Cozonac( Sweet

bread) with nut filling or with sweet cheese and raisins called Pasca – a Romanian Easter traditional

cake.

2.Christmas and New Year Dishes .Christmas Holidays are usually celebrated with pork dishes. Short-

ly before Christmas, on the 20th December, there is the tradition of butchering the pigs which were

fed and taken care of the entire year, preparing for this moment. This tradition is still kept alive in vil-

lages. There are some dishes which are usually prepared right after the sacrifice moment, such as

Pomana porcului (Pork Fest), when parts of the fresh meat are fried in fat and served to guests and

helpers. Pork Greaves(Jumari) are usually served at Christmas lunch, but they are also preserved and

served during entire winter. Those are extremely fatty pieces fried in pork lard, usually served as a

starter with lots of bread and onion. Pork jelly is an aspic made from pig trotters and meat and is also

served as a starter.

There is no traditional meal without Sarmale (Cabbage rolls) and Cozonac(Sweet bread)

3.Romanian Festive Salads.At all events whether they are celebrations, weddings or funerals Roma-

nians usually serve these three salads, considered as festive: Beef salad (Salata boeuf), Grilled egg-

plant salad (Salata de vinete) and Fish eggs salad (Salata de icre).

4.Soups are served at lunch after the starter.

Tripe Sour Soup is a very popular soup in Romania and people serve it at restaurants everywhere. It

Meatballs Sour Soup(Ciorba de Perisoare) is one of the most traditional soups of the Romanian cui-

sine. “Perisoare” means meatballs usually made with minced pork, beef or a combination of both,

mixed with rice, eggs and spices, then boiled in the soup with root vegetables.

5.Kidney Beans with Pork Knuckles (Fasole cu ciolan) is a dish of beans and smoked pork knuckle,

used to be an army delight, served with pickles. This is a dish usually served for free by the local au-

thorities during national holidays.

6. Mititei- The Wee Ones-Romanian word meaning "small things" is a traditional Romanian dish of

grilled ground meat rolls made from a mixture of pork, beef, mutton and spices.

62

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage(Sarmale)

Ingredients:

-1 large soured cabbage,

-750 g ground pork,

-smoked ham

-2 large onions, sautéed in oil

- 2 tablespoons rice,

-bay leaves

-about 500 ml tomato sauce, salt, pepper,

-sour cream (optional) when serving.

In a large bowl mix the ground pork with sautéed onion. Add rice, pepper, salt.

Core the cabbage with a sharp thin knife. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves, one

by one, so that they do not tear. Cut larger leaves in 2 or 3 and then place a little of the

meat mixture in each Cabbage piece and roll in. The smaller the rolls, the tastier t

hey are. Place a layer of rolls in the pot (take a deep one), slices of smoked ham,

then cover with a layer of thinly sliced cabbage and the bay leaves.

Do this layering until all the rolls are placed in the pot.

At the last layer add tomato sauce and water. Then place the pot in the oven

for about two hours.

Serve hot with sour cream.

63

Sweet Cheese Dumplings Rolled

in Breadcrumbs and Sugar(Papanasi)

Ingredients:

- 1000 g (approx. 1 lb ) farmer’s cheese

- 4 eggs

- 4 tbsp cream of wheat (semolina)

-4 tbsp wheat flour

- 8 tbsp breadcrumbs

- 100 g butter

- 8 tbsp sugar

In a bowl mix the cheese, eggs, and cream of wheat and the flour,lemon zest.

With your hands covered in flour take cheese out of the bowl and squeeze to make

balls about 5 cm (1 ½ in) in diameter. Place them on a dish.

Boil water in large pot, and add a pinch of salt. Put the dumplings in the boiling water

and boil them for 15 minutes. In a second pot or pan, heat the butter and pour the

bread crumbs. Stir until bread crumbs turn light brown, then turn the heat off.

Add the sugar and mix well.

The Papanaşi are ready when they rise to the surface. Remove them with the slotted

spoon and roll them in the bread crumbs and sugar mix.

64

Romanian Sweet Bread with Nut Filling(Cozonac)

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 kg flour,300 g sugar, 1 teaspoonful salt ,1/2 l milk,

6 eggs, 50 g yeast, 150 g butter, 100 g oil,

vanilla sugar, salt, lemon zest, eggs for brushing the

dough

Filling: 400 g ground walnuts, 1 cup milk, 250g sugar,

rum, vanilla

Make a leaven from yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix until the consistency of sour

cream, add 2-3 tablespoons warm milk, a little flour and mix well; sprinkle some flour

on top, cover and let sit in a warm place to rise. Mix the leaven with the flour, add the

yolks beaten with sugar, salt and vanilla and knead pouring lukewarm milk .

Knead, adding melted butter combined with oil, little by little, until the dough starts to

easily come off your palms.

Cover with a cloth and then something thicker (like a blanket).

Leave in a warm place to triple in bulk. If during kneading the dough seems too hard,

you may add a little milk. If, on the contrary, the dough seems too soft, you may add a

little flour.

In a pot melt the sugar in the warm milk with vanilla. When the sugar is melted,

add the walnuts and keep stirring. After a few minutes of boiling, and after the filling

has thickened, remove from heat and add rum. When the filling is cold, roll a sheet of

dough about one finger thick, uniformly spread the walnut filling on top of it.

Grease a bread pan, or use parchment paper, place the roll inside, let rise for a while.

Brush the top with beaten eggs and bake at medium heat. Take it out of the pan as

soon as it is done, place on a cloth and let cool. You can put more rolls in a baking tray.

65

Bye Bye !!

Martinel

from Romania

66

67

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DENMARK…9

Pizza…12

Danish meatballs…13

Chocolate cake…14

FINLAND…17

Salmon sandwich…20

Roasted Reindeer

with Mashed potatoes and

Lingonberry jam …21

Blueberry Pie…22

HUNGARY…25

Chicken Soup…28

Hortobagy Pancake…29

Coconut biscuit balls…30

IRELAND…33

Dublin Coddle…36

Bacon , cabbage, carrots and

Potatoes…37

Irish Stew...38

ITALY…41

Cavatelli alla Molisana…44

Cotoletta…46

Tiramisù…47

PORTUGAL….51

Sopa de caldo…54

Sardinhas assadas com broa…

55

Pastel de nata…56

ROMANIA…60

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage

(Sarmale)…63

Sweet Cheese Dumplings Rol-

led

in Breadcrumbs and Sugar

(Papanasi)...64

Romanian Sweet Bread with

Nut Filling(Cozonac)...65

68