With Thanksgiving just around the corner, here’s a quick round-up of some Romanian recipes that would pair perfectly as accompaniments to your Turkey!
Thanksgiving Side Dishes a la Romania
Browsing Category: Carne
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 ↓
Jumări {Pork Graves}
Some of my favorite Romanian delicacies are things I know I’d never be able to make (or even attempt to make) on my own. And, ironic enough, they all tend to be pork products. Go figure. The previously featured Clisa {Smoked Bacon} is one of those; a great addition to eggs, soups, campfires, or as a midnight snack on its own. This next recipe-less feature is called
This next recipe-less feature is called Jumări (pronounced jew-mair-ee) is a true treat in my household. Up until Thanksgiving 2016, I hadn’t had a piece of these golden nuggets for years, and that’s simply because they’re literally fat, fried in more fat, and sprinkled with salt. A.K.A. You can’t eat too many at once, and you most definitely shouldn’t eat it without bread to sop up all the grease swimming around in your stomach.
I’m doing a great job selling these, aren’t I?
↓ How about some pretty pictures? ↓
Slanina {Smoked Bacon}
Happy 4th of July! Nothing seems more fitting than talking about a Romanian meat delicacy on a day where brats, hot dogs, and hamburgers are consumed in mass quantities! (I’m right there with you. I expect at least one of each later today.)
There are some things I don’t have the means (or, let’s face it, the skillz) to create. But, thankfully, I can look to my grandfather, who has been making these Romanian recipes for decades, to provide me with my quarterly fix of some of these items. One of those is the equivalent of bacon, Slanina (pronounced sl-ah-neen-ah), though my family calls it clisa (pronounced klee-sa).
As is with many smoked Romanian meats, slanina is a pork product, made from the abdominal area or the back of a pig, and tends to be more gras (fat) than meat. It’s cured and smoked, and then ready to eat! Or, if you’re like me, you stock up on your pieces of slanina so you never run out. Since it’s cured, it can be stored in your refrigerator or freezer for quite a while.