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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Cașcaval Pane (pronounced kahsh-kah-vahl pah-neh) is Romania’s answer to the beloved mozzarella stick, made with—you guessed it—cașcaval cheese… or another semi-hard cheese if more readily available… and it pairs deliciously with my Mujdei De Usturoi garlic sauce!
↓ Recipe below ↓
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Budincă de Dovlecei (pronounced boo-deen-kuh deh dov-leh-chay) leans more into the realm of a pie than a pudding. However, regardless of the sugary terminology used, this dish is far from being a dessert!
As summer draws to a close, those who planted zucchini this year might find themselves inundated with this bountiful summer squash. Enter the recipe that lets you make the most of your harvest: Budincă de Dovlecei. Much like a crustless quiche, this dish offers a swift and simple way to prepare a delightful breakfast, brunch, or dinner!
↓ Recipe below ↓
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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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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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Bună băieți. De mult timp, nici un chat!
Hey guys. Long time, no chat!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. I could say life got in the way (it did), or I haven’t been cooking Romanian foods as often (I haven’t), but really I just didn’t prioritize blogging as much as I should have. I know my blogging schedule was lax to begin with (every/other Monday), but it became really lax, more like every/other half year.
So sorry. I hope to make From Dill to Dracula more of a priority in my life, because this food—and this country—really do fill me with happiness, joy, and warmth, and I still want to share these feelings and recipes with the world.
Guys… I’m back!
This past weekend, my little—but not so little—sister came to visit this past weekend. I like her more and more as we get older. Here we are out for drinks one evening:
Good people 🙂
And she brought with her the request to make this recipe during her visit. As kids, we affectionately called it Noodlies (pronounced: nude-lees), though I can tell you with great confidence that this is not the authentic name, no matter how fun it is to say. Noodlies. Noo-oo-d-lee-ee-ss.
C’mon, you know what I’m talking about.
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You’ll notice I don’t have the Romanian translation of this blog title. That’s because I’m not entirely sure it’s a Romanian recipe, though it is a family recipe and as many generations back as I can document my family has come from Romania. So I’m going to go with this recipe having Romanian roots. We call it Coca Bread (pronounced coke-ah) but I wasn’t able to find an equivalent recipe anywhere online so that might just be a family name.
That being said, this recipe is awesome and easy when you want (and/or need) a quick bread to sop up soup or sauce. It’s quick to make, doesn’t need time to rise, and I’m pretty sure you have all the ingredients already in your pantry/refrigerator. I’d liken it to a pita bread or naan, but there are still differences between those recipes and this recipe.
This is a fantastic recipe to have in your back pocket should you realize midway through cooking a meal that bread would really take it out of this world.
↓ Recipe below ↓
—But first, some pretty pictures—
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