S03E09: ROMANIA: Tochitură atop Mămăligă with Vegetarian Chiftele de Ciuperci & Zacusca Experiment

Romania is the largest country in Southeastern Europe. Dense forests, medieval fortresses, and the distinctive, colorful, traditional dress are some of the great things Romania is known for. But one of its best kept secrets, is its incredible food. Romanian cuisine has been influenced by Turkish, Hungarian, and other Slavic cuisines, but it has maintained its own culinary identity. Do you want my honest opinion? This is the country for which I have been the most delighted and shocked by tastiness of its cuisine. I mean, Shay and I both had no idea we were going to enjoy a Romanian dinner so much,
One of the most popular dishes is mămăligă, a delicious, savory, cornmeal porridge. And pork is the most popular meat. Today, we have prepared Romania on a plate; Tochitură, a grand combination of multiple varieties of pork, served on a bed of mămăligă and topped with a fried egg and sheep’s cheese. At first glance, this dish might seem to have TOO much going on, and you’re right. Because it had IT going on! The polenta paired perfectly with the pork and a fried egg is just what the dish needed.
On the side, we made zacusca, an eggplant and red pepper dip, seasoned to perfection and a perfect accompaniment to the fatty meat. Think baba ghanoush or muttabel. The Roasted eggplant and peppers imparted their smoky essence onto the onion, tomato, and garlic, blending together to make a silky dip with a lot of personality.
And finally, we prepared another holiday favorite, chiftele de ciuperci, a meatless meatball made with fresh mushrooms and dipped in sour cream. A winner was hard to choose, but this was it for me. Everything about this, from texture to flavor, screamed “Eat all of these and make them again!” To all of my vegetarian AND non-vegetarian friends, chiftele de ciuperci is a crowd pleaser and a must at any holiday gatherings…alone in your house because of Covid.

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