Roasted chicken with garlic sauce

For those times when you are not in the mood for fancy dinners and all you have in the fridge is some frozen chicken, this is the ideal recipe. It's easy, quick, and tasty. Roasted chicken is a very popular food in the whole world and Romania makes no exception. The original add-on is the home-made garlic sauce, which is so tasty and addictive, that we eat it with any food and in all circumstances that do not require further social interaction. To me, it's the ideal food for a lazy Friday or Saturday evening.

We used chicken thighs instead of chicken breast (which is drier) and roasted bread for the garlic sauce, with a side dish of lentil stew. 

Ingredients:

- 4 chicken thighs

- 1 spoon of margarine

- 4 cloves of garlic

- barbecue spices

- salt

For the garlic sauce:

- 1 bulb of garlic

- vegetable oil

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- a pinch of pepper

- sparkling water (optional)

The Kitchen Experience:

1. Wash the thighs and remove any visible fat and cartilages.

2. Mix the margarine with the crushed garlic, barbecue spices, and salt.

3. Divide the mixture into four, one for each piece of chicken. Gentle lift the skin from the thighs and stuff them with the mixture.

4. Put the 4 pieces in a glass bowl and sprinkle some more barbecue spices, then ass 1/2 cup of water. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and place it in the preheated oven.

5. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and roast for another 10 minutes. 

Ok. The chicken is done. 

Now, the garlic sauce.

1. Peel the garlic and crush it. 

2. Mix it with salt and pepper and leave it like that for 15 minutes. 

3. Add vegetable oil little by little, stirring the mixture vigorously. You'll know it's done when it looks like a mayo. If it's too thick and too pungent, you can add a little bit of sparkling water. It will make it "fluffier".

Enjoy!

Lentil Stew

Lentils have long been part of the Romanian traditional cuisine, especially as soup. In more recent times, they have begun to be used even more widely. To me, they are more flavored than beans and more easy to cook. There is a wide range of lentils, but for this recipe I used thin green lentils. They became tender in no time and preserved their shape, without becoming a mushy mixture.

Today's recipe is extremely simple, but extremely tasty. You can have it as an independent dish, with salad or caramelized onion, or as a side dish for chicken. The Romanian version does not contain cumin, turmeric, or cardamom, but parsley and/or sweet chili powder.

Ingredients:

- 2 medium onions
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- a pinch of cardamom
- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- black pepper
- salt

Lentils - The Kitchen Experience:

1. Pick and wash the lentils several times.
2. Boil the lentils in plain water for 15 minutes, then discard the water.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
4. Add the onion (chopped), the garlic (minced), cumin, turmeric, and cardamom; sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes.

5. Add broth and lentils; bring to boil
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. When it's almost done, add salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

White Beans Stew

Served with pickled cauliflower and flat bread

When it comes to beans, cultural differences are at their highest. We had a hard time in US trying to find the kind we used in Romania. There are so many varieties of it. Romanians and Eastern-Europeans commonly use the broad beans. For this recipe, we used dry white broad beans (or fava beans for the US readers). It may seem insignificant, but it is very important to choose the right kind for getting the right taste. If you use US red beans, your dish will get a glorious Mexican flavor. 

White beans stew (iahnie de fasole) is a very popular dish in Romania. The recipes don't vary much. The only difference between recipes is the amount of thyme each cook uses. I didn't use any, as I prefer the fresh taste of parsley associated with the pungent taste of garlic. It is not only tasty and filling, but it is also high in fiber, high in protein, and naturally low in fat, sugar, and sodium.

Ingredients (for 8 people):

- 500 g of dry white beans
- 3 medium onions
- 1 large carrot
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 2 laurel leaves
- 2 spoons of tomato paste
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil / chicken fat
- salt
- fresh pepper
 - dry or fresh thyme
- sweet chili powder



White Beans Stew - The Kitchen Experience

1. The day before, soak the dry beans in cold water. The next day they will be softer and will double or triple in size, depending on how dry they were.

2. Drain the water, then add again clean water and boil. When it starts boiling, discard the water, and add clean water again and also a leaf of laurel.

Before discarding the water the second time

3. Until the beans start boiling again, chop the onions, 4 cloves of garlic, and the carrot, then stir them fry in a non-stick pot until they turn golden.

Don't chop them very thinly.

Use a non-stick pane.

4. Drain again the boiling beans, then add them to the mixture above, together with two cups of clean hot water. Add another laurel leaf for a better taste. Make sure the water covers the beans, but not too much, as you will end up having too much sauce. Boil until beans become tender.

5. When you are sure they are well-done, add the salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Turn the stove to the minimum and let them stew. If needed, add more hot water.

6. 5 minutes before turning the stove off, add the chopped parsley and the other 4 cloves of garlic. You can also add sweet chili powder and/or thyme.

This is what it looks like when it's done.

You can have it with any kind of pickles and polenta. Enjoy!

Oriental Salad

Romania is a Christian Orthodox country and many Romanians fast. There are two main periods of such religious observance: 6 weeks before Easter and 6 weeks before Christmas.  Plus almost all Wednesdays and Fridays of the year, except for those indicated in the Christian-Orthodox calendar. Fasting means refraining from any food of animal origin (meat, eggs, dairy, etc.) and alcohol.

For any Romanian or Christian-Orthodox cook, fasting requires lots of imagination in the kitchen. Our first recipe is the fasting/vegetarian version (rețetă de post) of a very popular dish in Romania: Oriental Salad (Salată Orientală). This salad is mainly cooked on Easter, as a side dish for the roast lamb.

Ingredients (for 4 people):

- 4 large potatoes

- 1 medium onion

- 4 cloves of garlic

- 1 red bell pepper

- 4 radishes

- 2 spoons of minced parsley

- 10 pitted black olives

- salt

- black pepper

- vegetable oil

- vinegar / aceto balsamico

Oriental Salad - The Kitchen Experience

1. Peel the potatoes, cut them into small pieces (1.5 cm x 1.5 cm) and boil them in water, until they are well cooked. Then drain the water and let them cool. 

2. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion and the cloves of garlic, then the parsley, and the pepper.

3. Slice the radishes and the olives and add them to the salad.

4. Mix all the ingredients and add salt, black pepper, 3 spoons of vegetable oil, and 1 spoon of vinegar.

Oriental Salad - non-vegan version

Add hard boiled eggs (chopped and/or 2 spoonfuls of mayo). It is a great add-on to any steak and meat roll. Or you can just have it as such.

Enjoy!