Sauerkraut-based dishes
We’re not at all wrong saying sauerkraut is a Romanian favourite pickle, being used as a base for a wide range of dishes. Sauerkraut can be finely chopped and sautéed in order to be used as a side-dish, but it can also be used as wrapping for the traditional mincemeat rolls.
It can also be served as salad, provided we add pepper and paprika, and it can also be used as a souring agent for the Romanian traditional soup.
Sauerkraut can also be prepared as a filling for a sauerkraut pie, which in Romanian is suggestively termed varzari. This pie only goes with traditional fasting periods and can also be served as a winter holiday dish as well as all throughout the cold season, especially in Moldavia and Transylvania.
Here is a sauerkraut-based dish for Lent. Make a fermented dough, similar to what is generally used to make bread. For the filling, remove every leaf of the sauerkraut, then wash them in cold water. If it is too salty, keep the sauerkraut in cold water for a little longer. As soon as the leaves run dry, finely-chop and sauté them in hot oil or in lard, like in Transylvania. Finely-chopped fresh onion and a little bit of pepper can also be added. Mix the filling, allowing it to cool.
As soon as the dough has leavened, spread it with the help of a rolling pin. Portion the resulting sheet in 15-cm squares. Pour a spoonful of filling on each square and then fold it in.
The sauerkraut-based pies can be fried in oil or oven-baked. For the oven-baked pies, use a beaten egg to grease them. Bake until they turn a golden-brown color and serve hot or cold, with a little bit of sour cream spread on top.
Another traditional Lenten dish Romanians often cook at this time of the year is sauerkraut soup, also a favourite in slimming diets. Here’s the recipe.
You need a whole sauerkraut head of about 2 kilos, which you have to rinse before chopping into small pieces. You also need two onions, two carrots and tomato juice or paste. Slice the onions and the carrots. Add the cabbage and bring everything to a boil, long enough for the cabbage to become tender. At the end, add tomato juice or tomato sauce.
Enjoy!
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