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Reth’s Lettuce Soup from Palia {Romanian Edition // Supă de Salată Verde}

Since having my second child last year, I haven’t had much time to myself (read: none), so my gaming habits have… suffered, to say the least. When I do find twenty minutes of quiet, I turn on my Switch and load my newest favorite cozy game: Palia. (Brought to you by the original developers of The Sims franchise).

While playing, I met Reth—the local Palian chef. And one soup he’s constantly mentioning is his famous Lettuce Soup.

Lettuce Soup… where have I heard that before?

That’s when I realized I have a favorite Romanian lettuce soup! It’s called Supă de Salată Verde {Green Lettuce Soup} and, yes, it is what you’re thinking: lettuce in a broth.

But it’s also so much more than that, too… there’s also sour cream! (Go figure.)

Since I thought others (especially fellow Palia players) might be interested in trying a lettuce soup, I’m sharing this recipe from my cookbook!

↓ Recipe below ↓

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Ciorbă de Lobodă {Wolf Soup}

I was sitting out in my backyard with my mom when she looked over to our untamed planter box (we have a newborn aka our garden has sort of fallen by the wayside) and pointed out a weed that she said her grandmother, my great-grandmother, used to make a soup out of, and they’d call it Ciorbă de Lobodă (pronounced chore-bah day low-bow-dah). Naturally, I had to look up what this weed was (and taste it, but that’s beside the point…). Turns out, it goes by many names, like Lamb’s Quarters or Wild Spinach. Sure enough, tasting it, it did sort of resemble spinach!

So, instead of ripping it out, I decided to hang onto it, harvest it, and make some summer soup!

↓ Recipe below ↓

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Napolitane cu Caramel și Nuci {Wafers with Caramel and Nuts}

Welcome to the second recipe in my Cousin’s Cookies Collection (if you’re new to From Dill to Dracula, check out recipe number one of four: Heather’s Cookies)!

These were never called Napolitane cu Caramel și Nuci (pronounced nah-pole-e-tahn-eh coo car-a-mel she noo-chee), or Wafers and Cocoa. Instead, these were lovingly called Ashley’s Cookies. Yes, I had my very own cookies. And, of course, they were my favorite of the three.

(Again, this is more cake-like than cookie-like, but who am I to question my grandmother?

I’m not. And I won’t.)

But these cookies… man! Because wafers are such a delicate (and thin) carrier, they quite literally melt into your mouth. There’s also a graininess to the filling that’s so nostalgic and comforting—it’s very different from popular fillings which tend to be smooth. Not this one. Smooth disappears. Being able to feel the filling gives it prominence. And deliciousness.

So much deliciousness.
(And, yes, I know that’s not a word you’re supposed to use when describing a recipe, but I can’t help it!)

If you’re just tagging along, don’t forget to visit the rest of my Cousin Cookie Collection:

Tortul de Ciocolată din România {Romanian Chocolate Layer Cake}

↓ Recipe below ↓

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Pește Alb Cu Sos Marar și Hrean {White Fish with Dill and Horseradish Sauce}

Even though meats (particularly pork) are the more plentiful protein used in Romanian cuisine, there are many different species of fish featured in Romanian recipes thanks to the country’s access to the Danube and the Black Sea. Combining two popular Romanian flavors—dill and horseradish—Pește Alb Cu Sos Marar și Hrean (pronounced pesh-tay all-b coo s-ohs mah-ra-hr she hu-ran ) makes use of the many different white fish available and can be whipped up within 15 minutes!

Update 05.2021 // Hey! This recipe has been featured in the opening scene of the horror-survival video game Resident Evil 8 Village.

↓ Recipe below ↓

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Pilaf Din Ficat De Pui {Chicken Liver Pilaf}

While Pilaf Din Ficat De Pui (pronounced pee-lah-f deen fee-cah-t deh p-oo-y-ee) can be made with other, more familiar, parts of the chicken, I encourage you to try it with the livers. Chicken liver adds a hearty, decadent touch to what would otherwise be your standard pilaf dish. It’s also common to use all parts of an animal (yes, even the more undesirable organs), so this recipe makes use of the uncommon but flavorful and earthy offals (a.k.a. organs).

Update 05.2021 // Hey! This recipe has been featured in the opening scene of the horror-survival video game Resident Evil 8 Village.

↓ Recipe below ↓

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Tortul de Ciocolată din România {Romanian Chocolate Layer Cake}

Hi friends! *waves* This summer has been crazy and, for the majority of it, I haven’t even been home, so From Dill to Dracula has taken a hit. That being said, I have a lot of fun blog posts coming your way, and I’d like to kick it off with a series: My Cousin’s Cookie Collection.

Growing up, us four cousins on my dad’s side each had a cookie recipe named after each other. This recipe was always  called Heather’s Cookies, so named after my eldest cousin. Of course, the downside to this is that  I don’t have an official name for these cookies—lost in years and with age. And even though I’ve tried scouring the internet (and Pinterest) to find the proper name, I’ve come up empty handed.

Because this recipe uses biscuits, the only recipes that tended to come up were similar to my Salam de Biscuiti recipe, but this one is still… different. The addition of coffee (the instant variety) and a layering of cream to biscuit make it more of a cake than a cookie (even though that’s how we referred to them as kids).

Since I couldn’t very well title the recipe Heather’s Cookies, the best descriptor for this recipe I could come up with was Romanian Chocolate Layer Cake, or tortul de ciocolată din România (pronounced tour-tulle day ch-oh-k-oh-lah-tah dean Rome-ah-knee-ah).

This recipe is one of many I received from my grandmother in Romanian, and have since had my mom translate for me. Trying to translate recipes myself hasn’t gone so well in the past. Case in point:

(Shameless plug: If you don’t follow me on Twitter, please do!)

But I digress. It’s time for some food, right?

My husband likened this to a chocolate lasagna mixed with the texture of a tiramisu, and he’s pretty accurate on both counts. The layers of biscuit and cream are a lot like a traditional Italian lasagna, and because the biscuits are so porous, they absorb some of the cream and become soft, cakey bites. Yum! Enough talking. It’s time for some food, right?

Since there are four cousins, this will be the first of four recipes in my Cousin’s Cookies Collection. They’ll be posted in the order of the cousin’s age, so stay tuned for my very own cookies (“Ashley’s Cookies“) next!

↓ Recipe below ↓

—But first, some pretty pictures—

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