Ciorbă de Porc (pronounced ch-or-bah day pork) utilizes Romania’s most popular protein in this hearty sour soup filled with vegetables, perfect for a cold autumn day when you’re looking for a quick and delicious warm-up. Traditional recipes use borș {borscht} as the souring agent, but since that’s not a very common ingredient to find I’ve replaced it with lemon juice.
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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I’m a huge fan of recipes that make use of what you have, especially if it’s on the verge of meeting its trashcan demise. So while this Ciorbă de Legume (pronounced ch-or-bah day leg-oom-ay) has a list of vegetables that make up the soup, I give you free rein to add in whatever vegetables you need to use up! If it’s a heartier vegetable (think potatoes, cauliflower…) add it to the pot earlier in the recipe. If it’s a more delicate vegetable (think tomatoes, zucchini…) add it in near the end of the cook time.
This recipe, in particular, is a bit similar to my Transylvanian Bean Soup recipe (Supă de Fasole Transilvăneană), however, you’ll notice this recipe is a Ciorbă while that recipe is a Supă. So… what’s the difference? Both translate from Romanian to English as “soup,” though they denote key differences between recipes. “Supă” tends to refer to a sweeter soup with vegetables and/or noodles, but no meat, whereas “Ciorbă” tends to refer to a more sour soup with vegetables and/or noodles and is more likely to have meat in it (though neither of these recipes does).
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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About a week ago I teased on Twitter that I had purchased the biggest eggplant I’ve ever seen, specifically for this recipe:
I’ll let you be the judge of its size based on the pictures below, but seriously, it’s one massive eggplant. And it only cost me a dollar. I love the farmer’s market! This recipe took me a little longer than expected to cook up because of some unforeseen circumstances, but my eggplant survived the delay, and I’m so excited to share with you a delicious Romanian delicacy!
Growing up, eggplant was one of my favorite vegetables. It still is. That probably seems like an odd ingredient for a child to enjoy, but Salata de Vinete (pronounced sah-lah-tah de vin-eat) will change the minds of even the biggest eggplant hater’s (you know who you are). If you need convincing, here are 27 Science-Backed Health Benefits of Eggplant.
This recipe similar to our Middle Eastern friend baba ganoush (another favorite of mine), but with a Romanian twist. This spread embodies all the smokey goodness of an eggplant that’s been charred beyond recognition, and forget the spongy eggplant texture you might be familiar with, and say hello to a creamy dollop of heaven.
The only problem I ever had with this recipe as a kid was having to wait for it to chill in the refrigerator for an hour after my mother finished preparing it. Even with the summer coming to a close (say it ain’t so!), there are still plenty of occasions to introduce this Romanian delicacy to your next cookout or party—serve it with crackers, pita, baguette or veggies! Yum!
↓ Recipe below ↓
—But first, some pretty pictures—
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