Romanian Foodways: A Crossroads of -rastes Nicolae Constantinescu

'' p oftii bunii!" and ((Norocf'­ Sweet Cheese-filled Placinta ((Bon appetitf' and ((Cheers!" (pronounced pla-CHEEN-ta) - are often the first words that many visitors to Romania learn. And THE DOUGH: 500 grams/17 1/2 ounces flour (about 2 1/4 cups) with good reason, for the rich and diverse 3 tablespoons oil cuisine of Romania is one of the coun­ 1 teaspoon salt try's treasures. In Romanian cooking the 1 cup warm water hearty meats and vegetables of Central Europe meet the aromatic herbs and Place the flour in the middle of a very large sheet of waxed paper or spices of the Mediterranean and lands other preparation board (72" x 96"). In the middle of it add the oil, the farther east. The sharp smells of cheese salt, and the cup of warm water. Mix the ingredients with a tablespoon with onion or of garlic sauce mingle with and then use two hands. The dough should be soft. If necessary add more the delicate scents of vanilla and cinna­ water. Leave the dough in a warm, dry place, covered with a warm cloth, mon. The plainest meals of grilled meats for 10 minutes. Make a one-inch-thick layer of dough and leave it covered or (( Romanian eggs" (poached eggs) can with a cloth for an additional! 5 minutes. Sprinkle more flour on the be accompanied by more elaborate dishes preparation board and then make a very thin layer of dough (like a sheet such as stuffed grape leaves served with of paper) the size of the whole preparation board. Trim the edges to fit yogurt or sour cream. At Easter and other the preparation board, and leave the dough to dry for a few minutes holidays, tables groan beneath the weight before use. of cold cuts and sausages, white cheeses made from the milk of sheep and cows, THE FILLING: 300 grams/10 1/2 ounces ricotta cheese fresh and pickled vegetables, tomato and 30 grams/10 ounces fresh butter vegetable stews, and sugary cakes and 1/2 tablespoon flour sweet breads. 2 eggs But above all these smells and tastes 1/2 cup milk one food reigns supreme: bread (paine, salt from the Latin panem). At private homes 2 tablespoons melted butter and in restaurants, meals are always served with a full basket of freshly cut The very thin layer of dough needs to be cut in pieces that match a bread. Made of wheat flour, water, and 9" x 12" rectangular baking pan. Mix the cheese, butter, milk, flour, eggs, yeast, the bread in older times was baked and salt together. Coat the baking pan with melted butter, add one layer under a simple clay dome. Besides daily of the thin dough; coat with melted butter; repeat this action layering bread, there is ritual bread, compulsory dough and coating with butter four more times. Add the cheese mixture at holidays, celebrations, and feasts. and level it. Then add three more dough layers as explained previously. Ritual bread may take the shape of a Sprinkle butter on the pldcinta and put it in the oven at 350° F for 30-45 knot or braid (colac), a pretzel (covrig), a minutes or until the top layer is golden brown. When done, cut the flat cake (turtii), or a sweet-cream cheese pldcinta into squares and serve warm with powdered sugar on top or cake (pascii); the shape and decorations with sweet or sour cream. vary according to the ritual function. The

SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL 1999 49 most common symbols pressed into the (burduf orca~), rolled into balls, and tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, radishes dough just before baking are the cross, broiled on coals until the cheese melts. with cheese, garlic with bacon, lettuce the circle (representing the sun), the , Mamaliga also may be combined with with oil and vinegar), cooked (green bird, and human figures. Another, new~r , any vegetable or meat dish, especially peppers roasted on the kitchen range, kind of ritual sweet bread is the cozonac, stuffed cabbage. eggplant salad, or salata de vinete ), or made from wheat flour, yeast, milk, eggs, Although the name for these stuffed pickled (sauerkraut from white or red and butter. Crushed nuts, raisins, poppy cabbage rolls (sarma) comes from the cabbage, cucumbers, autumn tomatoes, seeds, and sometimes cocoa and Turkish Turkish (also sarma), and the dish is peppers, cauliflower, celery). Romanian delight are also added. Coliva, boiled similar to that found throughout housewives are famous for the various and ingenious ways in which they pre­ pare pickles each autumn. Fish from the Danube and the Black In Romanian cooking the hearty Sea, combined with a garlic sauce, are also an important part of seasonal and meats and vegetables of Central regional cuisines. While Americans have general labels Europe meet the aromatic herbs for foods such as "cheese" and "soup:' Romanians make distinctions between and spices of the Mediterranean different types of these foods. Branza is a pungent white cheese made from and lands farther east. sheep or cow's milk, while ca~caval is a yellow cheese similar to Swiss. Likewise, supa is a thin meat or vegetable broth, wheat grains sweetened with sugar and southeastern Europe, in Romania they while ciorba is a thick, slightly sour stew honey and mixed with nuts, is served at are called endearingly "little sarmale" best eaten with both a spoon and a fork. funerals. (sarmalufe) and are thought of as being With respect to drinks, the pride of As befits a population known for the part of the national cuisine. A mixture of place is accorded to wine, each region of cultivation of grains, another grain dish ground pork and/or beef, onions, rice, Romania having its famous vineyards. is the most beloved of Romanian tradi­ and spices is wrapped in pickled cab­ Varieties from Murfatlar and Tarnave, tional foods. Mamaliga, a kind of por­ bage leaves; these are slowly boiled in for example, have found their way to ridge or polenta, is prepared by boiling special pans (earthenware in some Western markets. But a Romanian meal corn meal (formerly millet flour) with regions), then baked in the oven until always starts with a little glass of fuica, a salt in a special cast iron pot. When the they are golden brown, and finally natural alcohol made from fruit (gener­ water is reduced and the porridge has served with "little mamaliga" ally plums but also pears, apples, apri­ become thick, the mamaliga is turned (mamaligufd) and a rich paprika sauce. cots, sweet cherries), distilled once in out of the pot onto a wooden board, In summer the cabbage leaves are re­ Muntenia and Moldova and twice in allowed to cool slightly, then cut into placed with grape, garden sorrel, or Transylvania. It has miraculous thera­ slices and served. Eating mamaliga by even linden tree leaves. peutic value when drunk moderately, in itself is a sign of poverty. Traditionally, it Another mincemeat dish, also of addition to whetting the appetite and is eaten with milk, sour cream, and Oriental origin but fully assimilated starting the conversation flowing. cheese ( mamaliga cu branza ~i into Romanian cuisine, is mititei. It is smantana) - products of the oldest made of beef and lamb minced twice, Nicolae Constantinescu was educated at the activities of Romanian peasants, breed­ mixed with spices, formed by hand into University of Bucharest (Ph.D. , 1971) and is ing cattle and raising sheep. The milk, finger-shaped pieces, then grilled over professor offolklor e and head of ethnology boiled in the pot the porridge has been charcoal. and folklore at the university. He is the author cooked in, has an excellent and unique Romania's rich agricultural land and of several books on folklore and ethnology. taste. Shepherds at the sheepfold boil the long growing season provide a wealth of porridge for an hour or more, then cut fruits and vegetables, which are central it, using a string, into large pieces. These to traditional Romanian cooking. Vege­ are mixed with special sheep cheeses tables can be eaten fresh (i.e., onions,

50 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL 1999