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Ingredients:
1 can sweet peas
2 green onions
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Place peas in a small bowl. Chop the green onions and add them to the peas.
Add the rest of the ingredients, mix with a spoon and serve.
Serving Suggestions: Usually this salad is served with grilled meat.
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Be sure, you’ll impress all your family and friends with these cute ladybugs. And if you got kids, they will simply LOVE them. I know this because my two year old did too.
Ingredients:
15 thin slices of a baguette
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
1 green onion
a couple romaine lettuce leaves
8 cherry tomatoes
8 large pitted black olives
Description:
Chop the onion very fine.
Mix together sour cream, feta cheese and onion.
In the oven, broil the baguette slices for a couple minutes – optional. Arrange on a large plate or platter.
Take about 1/2 tablespoon sour cream spread at a time and spread on each slice of bread.
Tear or cut the romaine lettuce leaves into pieces about the size of the baguette slices.
Place the lettuce pieces on top of the slices covered with the spread.
Cut the olives and tomatoes in half, lengthwise.
Cut the tomatoes from the bottom end to the middle, as pictured below.
Cut about a third of each olive, as pictured below. Set aside. They will be used to make the ladybugs heads.
Using a knife with a sharp pointy tip, make about 4 tiny holes into the tomatoes, 2 on each side. Cut small pieces from the remaining pieces of olives, and place them into the little tomato holes, as pictured below.
Using the same principle, make 2 tiny holes into the olives we will be using for the ladybugs’ heads. These will be the eyes. Fill them with small pieces of feta cheese. For the eyes you can also try to use tiny pieces of cream cheese. Just take a pointed knife and place the pieces on the ladybug’s “heads”.
Arrange the tomatoes on top of the lettuce leaves, then add the olive pieces in front, right next to them, as pictured below.
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These homemade egg noodles are used in the traditional Moldovan soup “Zeama” and in other dishes as well.
Ingredients:
1 egg
about 1 cup of flour
Crack the egg in a bowl. A little at a time, add the flour and knead with the hands, until the dough is very firm. Shape into a ball.
Spread a little flower on a hard surface. Place the dough on top, and use a rolling pin to spread it into a thin layer. Use as much flour as needed, in order to prevent the dough from sticking to the working surface.
Cut the dough in half, and continue spreading it. Try to get it as thin as possible.
Cut the dough sheets in wide strips.
Spread some more flour on the working surface. Place the strips of dough one on top of the other, adding flour in between every strip, so that they don’t stick together.
With a knife, cut the dough in very thin slivers, as shown in the picture below.
When you’re done, place the noodles in a sifter, and sift the extra flour away from the noodles.
You can use the noodles right away, or dry them off in order to use later. To do that, spread them on a larger clean surface and let them air dry. When completely dry to the touch, place the noodles in a plastic bag and store in a dry place.
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A traditional recipe, Moldovan “Zeama” is typically made with homemade egg noodles and whole chicken, which gives the recipe a delicious flavor. You can find the recipe for the homemade noodles under the Miscellaneous category. If you want an easier, faster option, I know Publix sells “fine egg noodles” that can be used instead.
Ingredients:
1 smaller whole chicken (about 3lb), cut up
about 12 cups (3 quarts) water
3 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 medium onion
1 carrot
1/2 big fresh tomato
about 2 cups homemade egg noodles
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped lovage herb leaves, or a medium celery stalk
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill weed
3-4 small branches fresh thyme
Directions:
Wash the chicken, place it in a deep saucepan and add water. Boil on medium-low heat, until froth rises to the top.
Meanwhile, clean and chop the onion, carrot, tomato and celery (if using that instead of the lovage herb).
Using a skimmer, remove all the froth.
Add salt, black pepper, onion, carrot, tomato and celery (if using).
Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the egg noodles and lemon juice.
Continue cooking on medium-low for about 4 more minutes.
Add the thyme, and finely chopped parsley and dill. If the celery stalk has any leaves, I usually chop them up finely as well and add them together with the other herbs.
Cover, remove from heat. If you let the soup stand for a little while, it allows flavors to blend in, making it taste better.
Serving Suggestions: Moldovans usually serve Zeama with traditional Moldovan corn bread. I will be posting the recipe soon as well.
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Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
3 chicken breast halves (can be substituted with thighs or other meat)
10 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh or canned diced tomatoes
2 and 1/2 cups of water
1 large (or 2 smaller) bay leaves
Directions:
Heat oil in a deep pan. Add onions.
Cook onions on medium until tender. Add diced carrot and cook until tender as well, then add the meat, salt and black pepper.
Cook until meat looks done on the surface, then add potatoes, tomatoes and water. Bring to boil and add the bay leave(s).
Cover and cook on medium for about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until it obtains a thicker texture.
Serving suggestions: Can be served with a fresh salad, pickles or feta cheese.
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This one is a family favorite, passed down for generations. It is a vegetarian version. You can prepare just the stuffed peppers, or just the stuffed cabbage leaves. Like my mom, I like to combine the both. I believe they taste better together. Here it goes:
Ingredients:
4 medium onions
1/2 cup oil
4 carrots
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups medium grain rice
4-5 bell peppers
1 whole fresh cabbage
Directions:
Prepare the stuffing:
Dice the onions and grate the carrots.
Add some water to the rice, to soak.
Pour oil in large skillet, heat, then add the onions.
Just when onions are softened, add carrots and cook until carrots are soft. Do not overcook.
Add tomatoes, salt and black pepper and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain water from the rice. Add to the mixture. Set aside.
Prepare the peppers and cabbage:
Peppers: With a knife, cut around the top of the peppers to scoop out the stems and all the seeds. Be careful to make sure the peppers stay whole. Rinse the peppers inside, and make sure no seeds are left.
Cabbage: Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water. Bring to a boil.
Take the cabbage and one at a time, cut the leaves at the base and remove them from the cabbage head. Take out as many leaves as you can. Be careful not to break. It’s better to use the larger leaves on the surface, that are not torn. Place a few cabbage leaves at a time in the saucepan with boiling water. Boil for about 3 minutes, just until the leaves are tender. Do not overcook. Remove from the pan without breaking and set aside.
With a spoon, fill the peppers with the rice stuffing, then place in the slow cooker.
Carefully remove the hard parts at the base/middle of the cabbage leaves, then cut in 2-4 sections, depending on the size of the leaf.
Take each piece of cabbage leaf, spoon some rice stuffing on it. The amount of rice stuffing depends on the size of the leaf. Then roll the cabbage leaf, to make sure you got the rice well covered. Use as much cabbage as you need in order to finish up all the rice stuffing. Place in the slow cooker, filling in the gaps between the peppers.
Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover everything with leftover cabbage leaves, either steamed or fresh. Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4.5 hours.
Remove the cabbage leaves from the top and serve. Pofta Buna!
Serving suggestions: This dish is normally served with sour cream. Add a fresh salad for a complete, healthy meal.
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There are several variations of the famous Red Beet Borscht. Here I am going to share my mom’s recipe, my favorite of all. It has a tangy taste, because of the lemon juice used in it. It is quite easy to make and very nutritious too.
Ingredients:
1 small onion
1/3 cup oil
1 carrot
1 large red beet
1/2 medium cabbage
2 teaspoons salt
3 medium potatoes
7 cups of water
1 can (16 oz) pinto or red kidney beans
1/2 cup fresh or canned diced tomatoes
1 lovage herb leaf, or if you can’t find it, you can use 1 small celery stalk as an alternative.
about 3 branches of fresh (preferably), or 1/4 teaspoon dry thyme
1/4 cup fresh or 1 teaspoon dry parsley
2 tablespoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dry dill weed
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice
sour cream to serve with the borscht.
Directions:
Chop up the onion. Heat the oil in a large, deep cooking pan, then add the onion to saute.
Meanwhile, cut up the carrot, red beat, cabbage and celery, if you’re using that instead of the lovage.
When the onion is starting to soften, add the carrot, red beet, cabbage, celery (if that’s what you’re using) and salt.
Cook until cabbage is starting to soften.
Cut up the potatoes.
Add them to the other vegetables in the pot, then pour the water on top.
Bring to a boil. Add the beans and tomatoes.
Boil until the potatoes in the soup are softening.
Add the lovage herb (if using), thyme, parsley, dill weed, black pepper and lemon juice. Cook for 3-5 more minutes, then remove from heat. Cover and let sit for at least 10 minutes. This will help the flavors blend better.
Serving Suggestions: Pour borscht into bowls and add about one tablespoon of sour cream in each bowl. Makes about 8 servings. Pofta Buna!
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