Romanian Mititei (Mici)

These little yummies are THE smell encountered at any Romanian Piatsa (outdoor market). They are the closest thing you find to Romanian street food. They are very flavorful and smell incredibly good while grilling.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 cup beef bouillon granules
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground lamb
1 teaspoon thyme
4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup soda water plain
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Mix all ingredients except soda water and baking soda until well blended.
Blend in baking soda.
Slowly add soda water a little at a time until well combined. Mixture should be moist but not so much that it cannot hold a shape.
Form meat into cylindrical shapes about 2-3 inches long and 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
Grill (or fry but they won't be as tasty) turning every few minutes until cooked through, about 10 minutes depending on your grill).
Serve with a light mustard.

Romanian Zacusca

A traditional vegetable spread found in Romania (probably in other neighboring countries as well). It is delicious on crust bread or even as a topping on rice for a quickie vegetarian meal. It is also excellent as a sandwich spread. This recipe is for a large batch intended for canning. You can cut it back if you want a smaller batch for immediate consumption.
Ingredients:
8 lbs fresh eggplants
6 lbs red peppers
2 lbs onions
2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups tomato paste
2 cups olive oil
Over an open flame (gas stove or grill) completely blacken the skins of the eggplants and peppers.
Peel skins off immediately. Easiest way to get the last bits off is to do it under a slow running faucet.
Puree each of the three vegetables separately in a food processor. And place each in a separate bowl when you are finished.
Place oil and onion in a large pot.
Saute onions for about 4 minutes over medium-low heat.
Add eggplant, onion, salt and pepper.
Cook until a thin layer of oil remains on top and when a spoonful of zacusca is removed, only the oil should run off the spoon, not the zacusca.
Taste and adjust salt and pepper to meet your tastes.
Spoon mixture into sterilized jars of your choosing. It is easiest if they are all the same size.
Wipe rims clean and place clean lids and rings on jars.
Place into a single layer in large pot (water bath canner if you have one).
Fill pot with water up to the necks of the jars. Bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool in water bath.
When cool remove from water and you are ready to go. If oil separates just mix it back in when ready to serve.
NOTE: My original Romanian recipe calls for a full Liter of oil but results in a much heavier and oilier zacusca. I cut mine back substantially from the original.

Varza (cabbage) à la Cluj

Varza à la Cluj is a special type of food specific to Transylvania, almost as popular as the "sarmale" that's made up of minced meat and rice in a pan and then baked in the oven.
Ingredients
1 piece of sauerkraut
1 onion
750 g of pork meat
4 tablespoons of grease
a tea cup full of sour cream
½ tea cup full of rice
salt
black pepper
some dill - optionally
How to cook it
Mince the meat and fry it in a saucepan together with the grease and some onion; smother it down from by adding a spoon of water from time to time
The chopped sauerkraut has to be smothered a little bit ( for about 20 min.) – use the oven and a pan
Boil the rice in salty water for a little bit and then put it in a sieve to take the water out and leave the rice dry and unsticky
Spread a little bit of grease on a saucepan walls and then stretch one layer of sauerkraut, 1 layer of meat and 1 of sour cream. Spread the rice and some salt and black pepper between the cabbage and the meat layers. Repeat this until all the ingredients are over and make sure you put a last layer of sour cream on top of everything.
Put everything in the oven (190 ° C ) for about 30 – 35 min.

Cabbage Rolls - Sarmale

This is one of the most popular Romanian traditional dishes. It’s mostly a winter dish, but we also eat it at weddings or any kind of celebration.
1 large soured cabbage, 1 3/4 lb/750 g ground meat (mixture of pork and beef is recommended), 2 large onions, 2 tablespoons rice, 2 tomatoes or 500 ml tomato sauce, salt, pepper, sweet paprika and sour cream (optional).
Grind the meat with a raw onion. Place in a bowl and mix with rice, pepper, salt, paprika, and finely chopped onion. Mix everything well. Core the cabbage with a sharp thin knife. Carefully remove the cabbage leaves, one by one, so that they do not tear. Cut larger leaves in 2 or 3 and then place a little meat in each cabbage piece and roll in. The smaller the rolls are, the tastier they are. Place a layer of rolls in the pan (take a deep one), then cover with a layer of chopped (julienned) cabbage and the bay leafs, then a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes. Do this layering until all the rolls are made. The last layer must be tomato slices and add tomato sauce. Then place in the oven so that the liquid is reduced. Serve hot with sour cream and with polenta, if you like it. It’s better to make them the day before you eat them, the flavour has to “settle down”.
It’s not the only way they can be made . When soured cabbage is not available, use cabbage leaves scalded in water