The
Art of Romanian Cooking
by Galia Sperber (Pelican)
 |
The
next time you hear the question, "Where did you get
that wonderful recipe?" you just might hear yourself
answering, "Oh, from a tribe of invading Tartars."
That's just one of the sources author Galia Sperber has
mined for the centuries of glorious food in her The
Art of Romanian Cooking.
The Tartars are one of the ingredients in the rich history
of Romanian cuisine. Others include Goths, Hungarians, Huns
and Turks (all of whom also invaded and left their stamp
on the Danube Delta's cuisine). Additional influences are
German, Greek and French.
The biggest influence on this valuable (and delicious) book,
though, is author Sperber, a doctor and research fellow
in London, who started by jotting down her mother’s
and grandmother's specialties and then used her impressive
research abilities to bring the entirety of the cuisine
to life.
What all this translates to are delicacies like Egg Roulade
with Spinach, Peas on Fried Bread, Grilled Mackerels with
Hot Sauce, Roast Ducklings on Sweet Cabbage, and Walnut
Budinca—one of many sweet and savory traditional puddings
(budincas). It also translates to lovely, straight-from-the-heart
writing.
"As a little girl, whenever I would spend the night
at my grandparents’ home, I would hear basme,
or fairy tales," Sperber writes. "These stories
had as their main heroes Fat Frumos (Prince Charming, always
depicted on a white horse) and Ileana Cosinzeana, the most
beautiful girl in the land, with blue eyes and blond hair
so long it touched the ground...
"A story depicts the feast of seven days and seven
nights that Fat Frumos’s father, the king, threw to
celebrate the slaying of the dragon and Fat Frumos’s
marriage to Ileana. All the king’s subjects, as well
as royalty from 70 countries, joined the celebrations. Food
was served in golden dishes and included partridge, venison,
fish, fruits in honey and exotic pastries and cakes. They
say that the sound of the festivities was so great that
for seven days the sun did not set."
Following are some of Sperber’s specialties that should
liven up your festivities:
RECIPES:
POTATO-CARROT
ROLL
WALNUT
BUDINCA
(Updated: 10/30/08 SB) |
