The Feast Day of
\nSt Elijah on the 20th of July traditionally marks the middle of
\npastoral summer. Around this date, shepherds used to come down to their village
\nfor the first time since taking their flocks up to the mountain pastures in
\nspring. Village festivals and fairs would thus be held on this occasion that
\nwould last several days, a custom that has still been preserved today in some
\nregions in Romania. In Apuseni Mountains in the west, the so-called girls’ fair
\nis held on Mount Gaina, while in Gorj, in the south, a festival called nedeia
\nis held in Polovragi. Another custom related to the Feast of St Elijah is the
\nfirst harvesting of the honey by beekeepers, which is usually followed by a
\ncelebration with much singing and dancing. <\/p>\n
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Naturally,
\nsummer is the season with the largest number of outdoor festivals, events where
\ntraditional music is played and people enjoy themselves together with their
\nfamilies and friends. The cooking at such festivals and fairs is usually made
\nusing big cast iron pots. Meat stews with lots of vegetables and fried chicken
\nare some of the most widespread recipes cooked in this way. The latter dish is
\nboth easy to make and delicious. What you need is one or two chickens which you
\nthen chop in small pieces and season with salt and pepper. Paprika is also used
\nin Transylvania, owing to the influence of Hungarian cuisine. The chicken
\npieces are then placed in a cast iron pot placed on a fire pit. Oil or lard is
\npoured into the pot, enough to cover the chicken. It won’t take long for the
\nmeet to cook. This dish is usually served warm with polenta and garlic sauce.<\/p>\n
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Another
\ntraditional dish commonly made at outdoor festivals and fairs, especially in
\nthe Gorj area, is the mutton stew. It is also cooked in a cast iron pot hung
\nabove an open fire. The shepherds from the Gorj area recommend that the fire be
\nmade using wood gathered from the forest. This stew can also be made, however,
\nat home, on the hob, but preferably in a cast iron pot. The recipe involves
\nmutton, leg or ribs, a few onions and some dried red peppers. At this point we
\nmust explain that in Oltenia, in southern Romania, it is common to leave a
\nvariety of red peppers to dry. These peppers, called raci in Romanian, and
\nwhich are very sweet, are used in a variety of dishes. To go back to our mutton
\nstew, you also need some black peppercorns, one or two laurel leaves and
\nseveral allspice corns. To cook this dish, you first need to put some lard in
\nthe hot pot and let it melt, followed by the pieces of mutton and a bit of
\nwater. Let everything boil on a low heat until the meat starts coming off the
\nbone. You then remove the bones and add the finely sliced onion and the finely
\nchopped peppers, as well as the rest of the spices. The meat will fry gently on
\na low heat. Salt is added towards the end. This stew is best served with
\npolenta, pickles and red wine. Enjoy!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Recipes cooked outdoors in big cast-iron pots good to feed a crowd at festival and outdoor events or at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":174550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45767],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-174549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-cooking-show"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n