Local Food and Drinks

[auroratasya]

It’s a little late, but I want to show you my oliebollen, which I made for New Year’s eve celebration:

My husband and kids loved it, my friends loved it too!
Thank you for sharing the recipe, @Dudie!

[dudie]

@auroratasya I’m glad they turned out well and everyone loved them, did they taste as good as your grandmothers?
My oliebollen didn’t taste very good, we got a oliebollenmix in our christmas box (over here some companies give you a christmas box with food, presents and the like for christmas to thank their staff) and I don’t know what was wrong with it but they didn’t turn out good.

[siemprebien33]

it looks sooooo delicious!!! wanna tryyyyyyyyy

[morico]

@siemprebien33 and @deak_lidia, in my country we also have this dish. It’s so tasty! And, it’s so right that it’s mostly eaten in winter, it just warms the heart… and belly. Cabbage rolls remind me of a hearty Christmas dinner with the family.

Here’s my recipe for Cabbage Rolls.

So, first of all, it’s the same food. Cabbage rolls with pork meat.

SARMALE - CU CARNE DE PORC

[EN: CABBAGE ROLLS - WITH PORK MEAT]

It’s a custom in my country to prepare different pickled vegetables since autumn, so the cabbage has enough time to slowly and gently pickle. It’s usually about 10-15 kilos of cabbage, but I’ll spare you the many numbered quantities.

---

Pre-Recipe - Varză acră (Pickled cabbage)

• Ingredients:

• 1 cabbage

• dry dill

• corn seeds

• water

• a jar big enough to put the cabbage whole in it

• Instructions:

  1. Wash the cabbage and cut its core out. In there, put enough salt (about 2-3 spoons) to cover the emptied core. Add there the dry dill and corn seeds.
  2. In the sterilized jar, on its bottom sprinkle some salt, add a few corn seeds and more dry dill.
  3. Now, place the cabbage in the jar. Of course, the salt mixture from the cabbage must face upwards so it doesn’t spill.
  4. Add water up to the mouth of the jar. Seal it. Place the jar in a pantry or somewhere cool for a few weeks - months.

---

Recipe - Sarmale (Cabbage rolls)

You’ll see I didn’t specify most quantities for the filling’s ingredients. That’s because it’s up to you. If you want more onions or pepper or paprika(hot/sweet/smoked), do so.

• Ingredients:

• a pickled cabbage + some diced pickled cabagge

• between 500gr and 1 kg pork meat (or a pork+beef mix), it all depends on the cabbage’s size

• pepper, to taste

• salt, to taste

• paprika, to taste

• dry or fresh thyme

• fine sliced onions

• pork seasoning mix, you can find it at the supermarket

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2-3 bay leaves

• Instructions:

1. In a big pot, spread on its bottom the diced pickled cabbage with the tomato paste and the bay leaves.
2. Mix the pork meat with pepper, salt, paprika, thyme, sliced onions and the pork seasoning mix.
3. Break each leaf of the cabbage and in each leaf put a small portion of the pork filling.Fold it and roll it.
4. Place each cabbage roll in the pot, in a circular way, so you can have more room. Or if the pot is rectangular, just line them up, all the better for you.
5. Cook on the stove for ~45 minutes, at 180°C.

It is served with warm polenta (recipe here), cold sour cream and a hot pepper.

Poftă bună! / Bon apetit!

[avit103]

I really want to eat it, but unfortunately i cannot find this kind of noodles in my country

[dramaaaaa]

reminds me of the turkish dish “sarma” not sure if i or anybody posted that already

in this case they were made with vine leaves but mom also makes them like this with cabbage. In the inside there is rice with meat and tomatopaste. you can add what you want i think depends on your taste

[Lamammhd]

isnt this Balkan food?
We have exactly the same thing in Arab countries the cabbage and the grape leaf.

[Lamammhd]

and it’s really tasty

[dramaaaaa]

LOL well actually not just “turkish”… I am kurdish and we make this dish… you must be right

[jdd97]

I’m surprised nobody posted any french dish so far, let me have this pleasure then ^^

Everyone probably knows our “Crêpes bretonnes”, never fail to mezmerize me… you can make them salty or sweet. You need to use different types of flour. Let me write you my grandmother recipe for the sweet ones.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7604390194_93d9c36e26.jpg

• 300 g of white flour
• 2 spoons of buckwheat flour
• 3eggs
• 80g of sugar
• 1/2 L of milk
• 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
• 1/2 sachet of baking powder
• a bit of salt

Mix all of the ingedients except the milk that you pour little by little while mixing.
To make the dough lighter (air it, I don’t know if it means smth in english though ^^), use a mixeur or blender (it’s better if it’s one you can use with your hands though.) Destroy the lumps ^^ you should have smth liquid.

And that’s it, after this you just need to put small quantities of the dough in a frying pan with butter and turn it upside down once a side is cooked you should have a dozen of them. Try to make them thin and you can put whatever you want on them, sugar, chocolate, sirop, honey, flaked almonds…

Oh I almost forgot, it’s excellent with cider

[jdd97]

Ooww I love those so bad… thankfully, I have lots of delicatessen (is that the word for people who make food of their country for the clients to take away?><) shops in the neighbourhood!

[simi11]

I liked the horseback riding trails the best, I’m jealous

[simi11]

they look similar to Czech palacinky but they are filled and rolled, hmm
http://www.czechcookbook.com/crepes-palacinky/

[erinbussert_740]

I love pie and I am from America so I chose an apple pie

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/old-fashioned-lattice-top-apple-pie

[simi11]

So my friend Jenny @kokoronospekkoek mentioned the Dutch/Indian specialty of cake which I had to google, here it is, it looks quite elaborate and reminds me a bit of a mille feuille or even a tiramisu style, I’m getting hungry
http://www.thedutchtable.com/2012/03/spekkoek.html

[ajumma2]

morico,
What are some typical Romanian dishes that are really easy to make? What you have already posted look really good but they look pretty complicated to me. I read on the internet that Romanian dishes are similar to Greek and mediterranean food. Is that true? I thought it would be more like Russian cuisine. I’m thinking of potentially making something for a Romanian family. But if it’s too hard, I could just order some food from a Greek restaurant or maybe a Kabob place if it’s similar enough. There really isn’t any Romanian restaurants around so I’m trying to find something they like.

Thanks.

[morico]

Hello!
In Romania, we have many influences from around, throughout our history. From Russia, Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. It all depends on the area of the country.
There are a few things we love - sour soups or borscht, with or without sour cream on top, solid polenta with fried fish and our “mici” (little ones), which are a type of meatballs.

So, here are some easy dishes:

Some desserts (you can find more recipes here):
https://romanianfood.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/fursecuri-cookies/

Also here: http://www.romanianfoodrecipes.com/

1. The easiest one is the tomato salad. It’s the Greek one, minus the olives.
So: tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, onion, oil (sunflower, in Romania), maybe thyme (we do love our thyme here ^^ )

2. Borscht with vegetables

• 500 gr/17.6 oz potatoes
• carrots
• celery root or stick
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 3 medium-sized tomatoes (preferably peel the skin)
• 3 spoons of vegetable oil
• lovage
• tarragon

• borscht, if you find it in any stores (usually it’s best to boil it separately, then added)

Peel and cut in small pieces the potatoes.
Peel and chop finely the vegetables and the onion.
In a big pot , put 2 liters/4.22 pt of water. Add the carrots, the celery, the onion, the tomatoes, the oil. When they are tender (try them with a fork), add the potatoes. We add the potatoes later, because otherwise they become mush. Add salt and pepper, maybe thyme if you have it.
Boil until soft, try the potatoes with the fork. Take the pot of the stove.
Then, make the soup sour by using borscht, if you can buy it locally, or you can use other alternatives such as lemon juice, vinegar, or the water from pickles, especially fermented cabbage/sauerkraut.

All that’s left is the chopped mixed herbs: the lovage and the tarragon. Sprinkle them on top.
Depending on the region they’re from, you can put on the table a bowl of sour cream. Half of Romania eats borscht with sour cream.

---

---

3. Stuffed Bell Peppers

It’a an easy recipe. You just fill the peppers with meat!

For visual instructions (it’s written in Romanian, but it might help): https://savoriurbane.com/ardei-umpluti-reteta-strabunicii-mele/#

• 8 bell peppers
• 700gr ground meat, usually mixed (pork+beef)
• 4 spring onions, or just onions
• 70gr rice
• 4 juicy tomatoes, boiled and peeled, or 500ml of bisk
• 2 spoons of oil
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, dill

The peppers:
Cut the top of the bell peppers (keep the tops for later), take out the stock, wash them.
Cut the onions, fry them 2-3 minutes with 2 teaspoons of oil and a pinch of salt. Add the rice and fry it 2 more minutes. Leit it cool down.

The filling:
In a big bowl mix the meat with the seasonings and mixed herbs.
Add the onion with the rice and mix manually.

The tomato sauce:
Wash the tomatoes and make a cut on them with the knife (it will be easier to peel them off).
Boil and peel the tomatoes. Mix in a blender.

!!! Or you can just use tomatoes from a tin. And blend them.

On the stove:
Fill the bell peppers with the meat mixture, put the lids on (or cut round slices of a tomato for a lid).
In a deep pot, place the peppers vertically, just like lil’ soldiers. Pour the tomato juice over them, add 2 cups of water or about 500 ml.
Cook them over a medium flame, about 50 minutes.

Serve with sour cream on top. It cuts the heaviness from the meat.

[ajumma2]

Morico,
This is perfect! I’ve made Borscht once before but it’s been so long. The tomato salad and stuffed peppers definitely seem like good and easy dishes.

Thanks so much.

[leerla73]

@morico

local food

In Mauritius this is a local dish.
Crocodile Biryani
!https://youtube.com/shorts/g4DDfEq2cmA?feature=shared

Eating Crocodile Biryani in MAURITIUS 🇲🇺

Tac Tac Soup, A local dish of Mauritius
!https://youtube.com/shorts/07vXQN9A_fE?feature=shared

We made dinner from what we found at the beach in Mauritius 🇲🇺

[kakashiandme]

TEXAS CHILI
I’m from Texas, so I have to post this. Many different states have their own “chili” but they add beans! Blegh! Texas Chili is the real deal!!! Inspired by the cowboys back in the day when all they had was beef and seasoning on hand. Add beer to give it a kick, highly recommend Shiner Bock or Guinness!

Ingredients

• 3 ancho peppers
• 3 pasilla peppers
• 3 New Mexican dried peppers (ancho, pasilla, chipotle) Whatever peppers you have in your country will work. You can’t screw this up! You can actually buy these in the spice section of most stores in a bottle. Already ground and dried.
• 2.5 pounds beef chuck cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion chopped
• 3 jalapeno peppers chopped
• 2 serrano peppers chopped (optional for extra heat – use extra jalapenos for milder)
• 4 cloves garlic chopped
• 2 cups beef stock or use a dark beer
• 2.5 cups water + more as needed (or use chicken or beef stock, or beer)
• 2 tablespoons masa harina corn flour, for thickening, if desired
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• FOR SERVING: Chopped onion, spicy chili flakes, freshly chopped cilantro, lime wedges, crema or sour cream, Fritos or tortilla chips, whatever else you desire

Instructions

• Start your chili paste first by lightly toasting the dried peppers in a dry pan about a minute or 2 per side. This will help to release the oils.

• Remove from heat and cool enough to handle. Remove the stems and pour out the seeds.

• Soak the peppers in hot water for 20 minutes, or until they are nice and soft.

• Add them to a food processor with 1/2 to 1 cup of the soaking water and a bit of salt to taste. Process until nice and smooth. Set aside for now.

• Add the cubed beef to a large bowl and toss with the cumin and a bit of salt and pepper. Make sure everything is nice and coated.

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot and add the seasoned beef. Cook 6-7 minutes, searing the beef all over. Remove the beef and set aside.

• Add the remaining olive oil along with the jalapenos, serranos and onion. Cook them down about 5 minutes.

• Add the garlic and stir. Cook another minute.

• Return the beef to the pot and stir in the reserved chili paste. Cook it for 2-3 minutes to let the flavor develop a bit.

• Stir in the beef broth (or beer), 2 cups of water, brown sugar, Worcestershire, and masa and bring to a quick boil. If you are using the optional additions (see my NOTES above), add them in now.

• Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender. It could take longer if you are using tougher cuts of beef (see NOTES above). Give it a stir once every 30 minutes or so. If it becomes too thick, add in a ¼ cup of water and stir. Thicken with more masa.

• Serve with your favorite fixins! (Add Cheese and Fritos, and you have what we Texans call Frito Pie!!!)