Moldavian sweets recipes. Moldavian cuisine! Photos of traditional dishes of Moldova! Cafes and restaurants in Chisinau

Moldova is a rich region, a land of grapes, fruits and a variety of vegetables, which is facilitated by favorable natural and climatic conditions. It is not surprising that Moldovan cuisine has long used all these riches. But in addition to natural conditions, the development of Moldavian cuisine was greatly influenced by the historical destinies of the Moldavian people, the location of Moldova at the junction of countries with different cultures, on one of the oldest trade routes.

Brynza is one of the types of brine cheese made from sheep's milk, it requires extremely short aging (1-1.5 weeks), has been prepared in Moldova since ancient times in large quantities, and is based on the traditional sheep breeding here, which was most developed in the 17th-19th centuries. , when it was the leading branch of the Moldovan economy. Bryndza is consumed not only as an everyday snack in its natural form, but also in grated form as an additive to vegetable, egg, flour and meat dishes.

Compared to feta cheese, corn became a characteristic product of Moldavian cuisine relatively recently - only 200 years ago. It was brought to Moldova only in the 17th century. and spread widely in the 18th century, becoming, first of all, the everyday food of the poor. Over time, people in Moldova learned to prepare a variety of dishes from corn. The national porridge mamalyga is famous; corn is widely used in soups and side dishes, it is boiled and baked. At the same time, in Moldova, wheat bread is traditionally consumed, not corn bread.

Vegetables play a huge role in Moldavian cuisine. They are used to prepare side dishes and independent dishes. Most often they are boiled, baked, stuffed, stewed and salted, less often - fried. Favorite and specific vegetables for Moldavian cuisine are grain and green beans, lentils, tomatoes, gogoshary, sweet peppers, eggplants, and zucchini.

Legumes are often consumed in puree form, whipped with onions and vegetable oil. The remaining vegetables, especially peppers, eggplants, and gogoshars, are usually stuffed with either other vegetables or rice with vegetables and meat. Very often, vegetables are consumed with sauces, marinades and other dressings made from wine, sour cream, spicy vegetables and herbs. From various vegetables, stewed over low heat with vegetable and animal fats and spices, a variety of vegetable stews are prepared - givechi and moussaka, which have a pleasant taste. Cheese cheese and sour cream are often added to such vegetable dishes.

Of the spicy herbs and spicy vegetables, the most in demand are leeks (prague) and celery, which are used in large quantities in Moldova not only for seasonings, but also as independent dishes.

Other spices used include coriander seeds, black and allspice, cloves, bay leaves, and tarragon, especially in pickles. Garlic is also widely used, forming the basis for two common national Moldovan sauces - mujdeya and skordoli, and also goes into all meat and vegetable dishes, especially legumes. In Moldavian folklore and beliefs, garlic is endowed with miraculous powers. In the past, in Moldova, with its hot summers and damp winters, it was a folk remedy used with food.

Moldavian cuisine, as noted above, is characterized by tolerance for the perception of culinary customs of neighboring peoples. This is easy to see in the example of meat dishes. Moldovans equally use lamb (chorba, givech, moussaka), pork (kyrnetsei, kostitsa, mushka), beef (mititei), and poultry (zama) in their national dishes. At the same time, there is a clear preference for young, tender meat from calves, lambs, young cockerels and chickens. Meat is always prepared in combination with vegetables, in relation to which it makes up a small part in such dishes, as well as in combination with fruits (veal with quince, turkey with apricots).

Typical of Moldavian cuisine is the combination of dry wine and tomato juice in meat dishes and sauces. This gives the meat a special tenderness and at the same time makes it more piquant, which makes Moldavian cuisine similar to the cuisines of other Romanesque peoples.

The technology for preparing national meat dishes is characterized by the use of open fire and grater. The grater is pre-lubricated with oil, lard or animal fat, and meat or poultry is placed on it either in a piece or in chopped and then compressed form (shot, mititei, kyrnetsei). For extinguishing, an oven is usually used rather than a stovetop fire. A description of traditional Moldavian cuisine would be incomplete without mentioning flour products: placindas, Easter cakes, Easter cakes, dumplings, etc. Walnuts are widely popular.

Moldavian cuisine or the national cuisine of Moldova has a rather long history of existence. Its formation was influenced by Greek and Byzantine culture. For example, Moldavian cooking has been enriched with a recipe for such a dish as vertuta. In addition, the influence also affected the emergence of specific technologies and techniques in cooking. Also common in traditional Moldavian cuisine is the use of puff pastry, butter and stretch pastry, the use of vegetable oils in cooking, as well as the use of wines for preparing vegetable dishes and meat dishes. In addition, you can find in the national cuisine of Moldova some Russian notes, since this country was part of the Old Russian state from the 8th to the 13th centuries. Slavic influence greatly affected the tradition of making preparations for the winter. In addition, thanks to the Russians, Moldovans fell in love with cabbage pies! It is also worth noting that Thanks to almost three hundred years of subjugation to Turkey, Moldavian cuisine has also been enriched with oriental notes. For example, Moldovans prefer lamb as a meat product, and during cooking, products lend themselves to combined processing, which is typical for Turkish cuisine.

As for the list of types of dishes of national Moldavian cuisine, among them you will find first and second courses, snacks, a variety of pastries, and desserts. Traditional soups are distinguished by a hint of sourness in their taste and the constant addition of a whole bouquet of various greens: parsley, dill, celery, tarragon, thyme, mint, lovage. They are prepared on the basis of vegetable, meat and fish broths. First courses are acidified with bread kvass called Borsh or with citric acid. Flour with beaten egg is used as a dressing. In general, two types of soup are most famous in Moldavian cuisine: chorba or thick soup and zama or chicken broth.

Main courses in Moldavian cuisine can be very varied, but they always include vegetables or fruits, which grow in abundance in sunny Moldova! Greens of all kinds are also an invariable component in the preparation of such dishes. Thus, the taste of the dishes is rich and spicy. As for cooking methods, one of the most popular is baking in clay pots. In restaurants of Moldovan cuisine, fish and meat are often cooked over coals, which gives such dishes an incredible aroma!

Recipes of Moldavian cuisine are very diverse. This directly applies to flour products. They are represented by pies, pies, Easter cakes, and rolls. The filling can also be very varied, but the most common is the filling of cheese, as well as nuts and pumpkin. In addition, Moldovans bake all kinds of cakes, pastries and cookies. The filling of such desserts, as a rule, consists of local fruits and berries.

Speaking about the national cuisine of Moldova, one cannot fail to mention the wines of this country. They are truly diverse! The nature of the Moldavian region allows for the cultivation of various varieties of grapes, which in fact determined the development of winemaking.

You can get acquainted in more detail with the national Moldovan cuisine, or rather, with the recipes for its dishes, on our website. All of them not only have detailed descriptions, but are also equipped with photos of all stages of preparation.

Moldavian cuisine in the modern world is in the position of Cinderella. She is simple and modest, rarely leaves the house, she does not have any gloss or exoticism to shine in restaurants. Some even believe that it does not exist at all. Nevertheless, Moldavian cuisine is wonderful: it is bright, original, rich in flavors and aromas. As for its usefulness, many traditional Moldovan dishes are the standard of healthy nutrition.

There is an opinion that since Moldova was not independent for most of its history, it is impossible to talk about independent Moldavian cuisine, and all dishes common in the territory of modern Moldova are Romanian or borrowed from Turkish, Russian, Greek, Balkan and other cuisines. This point of view is easy to refute: Romania was artificially created in the 19th century from parts of Moldova, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. The cuisine that spread there accordingly began to be called Romanian, although in fact most Romanian dishes have ancient Moldavian roots.

A large number of borrowings from neighbors is also not an argument against Moldavian cuisine, because there are borrowings even in the closed Japanese cuisine, and Moldova, with its mild climate and fertile lands, has always been a tasty morsel for numerous conquerors, it was part of the Old Russian state, Turkey, and later - Russian Empire and USSR. Moreover, being located at the crossroads of ancient trade routes between north and south and between east and west, it was simply impossible for Moldova to avoid a mixture of culinary traditions. Many processing methods and principles of combining products in Moldova are the same as in the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine; the influence of Jewish, German, Mediterranean and Eastern traditions is strong here. However, not a single recipe was borrowed completely, without changes. Moldavian chefs, cooks and housewives have always had their own view of cooking and did not copy, but created, combining all parts of the world on their dining table.

A striking example is corn. This South American cereal appeared in the Principality of Moldova relatively recently (about 300 years ago), but a dish made from it - hominy - is considered the hallmark of Moldavian cuisine. Corn was much better suited for hominy than millet, from which this ancient dish was originally prepared. It is believed that the ancestor of hominy is Italian polenta, and among gourmets there is ongoing debate about which of these poor people's dishes is tastier. Be that as it may, mamalyga, this simple but very tasty and healthy dish is still loved and revered in Moldova. Corn hominy can be an independent dish, you just need to add something for taste: butter, sour cream, milk, garlic, cheese, cracklings, mushrooms. It is not customary to cut hominy with a knife; it is broken by hand or separated with thread. Then everyone crushes a piece of mamalyga in their hands and dips it in melted butter and grated cheese: it makes an excellent appetizer for dry red wine. If this is too simple, you can prepare other interesting dishes from hominy: urs (cheese cheese baked in hominy balls), sarmale (cabbage rolls or cabbage rolls with hominy) or simply fry pieces of hominy in butter.

Mamalyga cannot be called a substitute for bread, as it once was in poor Moldovan families. Today, white wheat bread occupies a special place on the Moldovan table. There are also many recipes for pies here. The most famous Moldovan pies are placinta (placinda) and vertuta. Their main difference is in shape: placinta is a flat pie, and vertuta is a roll rolled into a spiral. They are made from unsweetened stretch dough with a variety of fillings: cottage cheese, feta cheese, onions, eggs, potatoes, fruits or nuts. Pies with fresh or sauerkraut - verzere - came from Russian cuisine and became popular.

Moldavian sweets are very unusual; they are closer to oriental cuisine than to European cuisine. Of course, Moldavian cuisine has the familiar kalachi, Easter cakes and apple pies, but especially interesting are Mediterranean sweets made from puff pastry and butter dough, honey cakes made from corn flour with cinnamon, gogosh wheat shortbread cookies, and semilune cookies glued together with marmalade. And there is also a mysterious black babka - either a cake or a pudding, which is baked in the oven for 4 hours.

In addition to sweet pastries, Moldavian cuisine also contains completely different sweets based on fruits, berries and nuts: kitonoage (quince and apple pastille), alvitsa (halva with walnuts), peltea (jelly made from fruit and berry juices and decoctions). They also know how to prepare typically oriental sweets: nut nougat, fruit marshmallows, marmalade, marshmallows and soufflé. Moldavian confectioners cannot do without wine to soak the finished sweets. Another local specialty: the use of must, thick grape juice, a by-product of wine production. Fruits and even vegetables are cooked in it.

The climate of Moldova is ideal for growing grapes, vegetables, fruits and grains. The abundance and variety of plant foods in Moldova is such that there is little room left on the table or in the stomach for meat. Therefore, for a long time, Moldavian cuisine was considered poor and uninteresting. Many traditional Moldavian dishes were almost unknown outside the country, although it is not difficult to replicate them if you have the ingredients. Today, when the view on nutrition has changed to the diametrically opposite one, and the main value of food instead of calories and fats has become antioxidants and fiber, Moldovan cuisine can be called one of the healthiest in the world, close in its range of products to the cuisines of the Mediterranean.

There is a special approach to vegetables in Moldova: they are baked whole, chopped and fried, pureed, stuffed and stewed, and pickled and salted for the winter. Simple boiled or baked corn on the cob, and it is considered an independent dish, has its own name - popushy - and is served with salt and butter or a special spicy sauce. The most favorite vegetables in Moldova are sweet peppers, gogoshar (a type of sweet pepper with a spicy taste), tomatoes, onions, eggplants, zucchini, and pumpkin. Legumes are very popular here: white and green beans, lentils, chickpeas. They are usually pureed with onions, garlic and vegetable oils. Vegetables and legumes are used in Moldova almost all year round in the form of salty snacks, salads, side dishes, main courses, soups and meat dishes.

The secret of the taste of Moldavian vegetable dishes lies in the extensive use of hot sauces, rich sour cream and feta cheese - a pickled cheese made from sheep's milk. Pickled cheeses and other fermented milk products are found in the cuisines of almost all nations, but in Moldova sour cream and feta cheese occupy a special place. They add satiety and nutrition and act as spices to create salty and sour flavors in meat, fish, vegetable and flour dishes. But this does not mean that spices are tight in Moldova. Here, aromatic herbs are used in abundance: onions, leeks, garlic, tarragon, thyme, lovage, dill, celery, parsley and classic spices: black, red and allspice, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, bay leaf, cinnamon. Simple sauces came to Moldova from the cuisines of the Mediterranean, but they changed so much that you can no longer recognize the classic pesto in the Moldavian scordola, or aioli in the mujdei.

Meat, poultry and fish are not given much attention in Moldova, but there are no bans on pork or any other meat here either. In Moldavian cuisine, tender meat of lambs, calves, and young chickens is valued. Meat is often used as an additional, optional ingredient in dishes, as a spice. It’s delicious with it, but not bad without it. For example, in giveche, lamb is stewed and baked along with carrots, peppers, zucchini, eggplants, cauliflower, garlic, potatoes, onions, tomato juice and is practically lost against this bright background. In Moldavian moussaka - a tender layered “pie” made from eggplants, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, potatoes, cabbage - minced lamb makes up less than half the volume, and may be completely absent.

Meat is the main ingredient only in ancient dishes common to all peoples of the region. These are, for example, kostitsa - fire-roasted pork marinated in wine; mushka - smoked pork ham; kiftelutse - fried beef meatballs; Resol - rooster jelly, whole fried chickens and turkeys. Often, meat in Moldova is simply fried over an open fire: on a spit or on a grill (grater). At the same time, prepare eggplants, sweet peppers, bake potatoes - and a simple, hearty, beautiful dinner with a smoky aroma is ready. According to Moldavian traditions, especially fatty meat and fish are always prepared with a sour component: tomato juice, lemon, quince, apples, apricots, wine. This is done not only for taste, but also for better absorption of animal fats, which is confirmed by modern science.

Like any truly folk cuisine, Moldavian cuisine makes extensive use of offal. The most famous offal dishes are lamb liver baked in a stuffing pan (drob), and fried beef and pork sausages (mititei and kyrnetsi).

Moldavian soups are very interesting - a mixture of ancient Russian, Mediterranean and Caucasian traditions. For example, chorba is a sour soup in meat broth, cooked from young, unroasted vegetables and seasoned with herbs, sour cream, cabbage brine or the national Moldavian bran drink, reminiscent of sour kvass. From poultry meat, onions, carrots, potatoes, lemon juice and a raw egg, beaten with sour cream, you get another sour soup - zama. And if the household only has vegetables and corn flour, you can add whey and prepare a simple soup called syrbushka.

Interestingly, hot drinks are not very popular in Moldova. The abundance of berries and fruits left tea, coffee and cocoa no chance of popularity. People traditionally drink juices, compotes, jelly, syrups, sorbets and a variety of fermented milk drinks here. The favorite drink in Moldova is, of course, red wine. Archaeologists claim that Moldavian winemaking traditions are among the oldest in the world. On the territory of modern Moldova, grape wine was known 5000 years ago. Many Moldovan villages, despite the long rule of the Muslim Ottoman Empire and the ban on wine production, have preserved ancient grape varieties that are not found anywhere else on the planet. The most famous among them are Feteasca Regale, Feteasca Alba, Rara Neagra. The climate and soils of Moldova allow the cultivation of classic French grape varieties: Pinot Gris, Aligote, Cabernet, Muscat. Divins are also made in Moldova - strong drinks using brandy technology.

The variety of wines allows you to choose your own accompaniment for each dish: light white or red wines for beef and poultry; pink for vegetables; blended reds - for hominy; Cahors or sherry - for Easter cakes and sweet pies; strong drinks - for heavy and spicy dishes. The importance and ancient traditions of winemaking in Moldova are most convincingly demonstrated by the fact that in the Moldovan village of Mileştii Mici there is the world's largest collection of wines: more than one and a half million bottles are stored in cellars 200 km long.

In the 20th century, Moldavian cuisine underwent strong metamorphoses: many ancient dishes disappeared or changed beyond recognition, but new ones appeared that had nothing in common with traditional Moldavian recipes. This is, for example, the Chisinau salad. According to some sources, it consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, herbs and seasoned with sour cream or mayonnaise, while according to others, it is a pompous salad of cabbage, apples, carrots, cheese, nuts, cinnamon, citric acid and mayonnaise.

Relatively recently, by historical standards, a new meat dish appeared in Moldova: Tiraspol-style cucumbers. It's actually fried meatloaf with garlic, lard and spices. Some chefs add cucumbers and feta cheese to the rolls to match the name. It turns out to be some kind of meat similarity to sushi. Another example of New Moldavian cooking is the “Gugutse Hat” cake. This is a very complex cake in the shape of a pyramid, assembled from rolls with cherry filling and decorated with cream and meringue. Such recipes, far from tradition, mean that Moldovan cuisine is not going through its best period. But as we know from history, she is able to withstand any test and come out enriched. Even now, Moldovan cuisine is alive and continues to develop.

Food in which Germans and Russians, Turks and Romanians, Ukrainians and Greeks will find something familiar - all this is about the Moldovan national cuisine. The history of the country has formed an international system of bright and satisfying dishes, colorful and aromatic. While studying the cuisines of the world, it would be simply a crime to bypass the Moldavian one. It’s worth returning to it every time you want something truly traditional, no matter where you live.

Differences in the national cuisine of Moldova

Moldavian national cuisine is very similar to the cuisines of neighboring countries, but at the same time it is different from all others. She has individual traits, which we will learn about today. Like the culture of other states, Moldavian culture was formed under the influence of history. It was its unexpected twists that ensured the modern habits and taste preferences of Moldovans. Before the formation of the Principality of Moldova in the 14th century, the lands of modern Moldova were inhabited by several ethnic groups. The emergence of national cuisine is attributed to the period of the principality, and the gastronomic preferences of the first settlers are not taken into account. With independence, the principality began to trade with neighboring countries, which did not bring much novelty to the cuisine.

The initial basis for national cuisine were those products that grew or were grown in a given territory. Although this is also a lot: the geographical location of the country is simply created for agriculture. The local climate allows you to successfully grow both root vegetables and herbs, as well as grains and fruits. Back in the Middle Ages, Moldavian housewives learned to combine vegetables in a variety of combinations, because there were a lot of these ingredients here. And today you will not learn anywhere to combine vegetables so perfectly as in Moldova.

The fertile lands attracted the attention of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. And the Turks had a rule to conquer whatever they liked. So Moldova fell under the rule of the Ottomans for 300 long years. During this period, the country's culture adopted some of the characteristics of its enslavers, including its cuisine. So the Moldovans learned from them the combined processing of dishes and the use of vegetable oils. They began to use it more and more often, which was previously preferred to poultry. And today you can find dishes that are the same for both cuisines, for example chorba or givech.

The close relationship with the Slavic peoples also left its mark on this culture. The greatest contribution of the ancient Russian peoples to Moldavian cuisine is considered to be the tradition of pickles and marinades. This technique of procuring food for future use was here even without the influence of the Russians and Ukrainians, but the latter made their own adjustments. For example, using a large amount of greens in salting, cabbage sourdough technique, etc. Thanks to the Turks, the Moldovans became more familiar with spices, and they knew how to mix different components themselves. Thus, various pickles and marinades in Moldavian cuisine acquired their own individual character.

Popular products and dishes

Here they equally often use vegetables, dairy products and meat; they love fish and sweets. In the cuisine of Moldova it is impossible to single out one traditional product; everything is used here. Vegetables can most often be found in dishes; they are used to prepare stews, stuffed, and fermented for the winter. Among sweet peppers, they prefer the native Gogoshar - a special resistant variety, similar to the Bulgarian one. In general, Moldovans really like stuffing vegetables, unlike the common stuffed peppers; here you can also try eggplant stuffed with minced meat. Moreover, such dishes are found more often in home kitchens than in restaurants.

Among the spices in Moldova, they prefer greens and paprika. Classic seasonings like these allow you to create something delicious at the same time. But a no frills dish. It is very popular; sauces are prepared on its basis and added to main courses for taste and aroma. The most popular garlic-based sauces are mujdey and skordola. The latter is especially good, prepared with nuts and herbs.

All types of meat are used in Moldova; a distinctive feature of the cuisine is a large number of lamb dishes. Unlike neighboring peoples, in Moldova they prefer young meat: lambs. This product has a delicate, slightly expressed aroma and taste.

A lot of national dishes are prepared from meat, such as:

1. Mititei - similar in appearance to small sausages, but prepared without lamb casing or with spices. They are fried over an open fire using charcoal, which gives the dish a subtle smoky flavor.
2. Moussaka is a casserole with meat and cow, the dish was adopted from the Greeks, where it is called the same.
3. Kostitsa is pork roasted over a fire, before cooking it is marinated in red wine and pepper. It is prepared in the traditional way on a grater (a special coarse grill).
4. Kyrnetsei are sausages very similar to mititei, but they are made from lean pork meat with spices.
5. Jelly is an ordinary jellied meat, with the obligatory addition of spices and garlic.
6. Pastrama is a dish common in Turkic cuisine, essentially an ordinary basturma.

Most meat dishes are eaten with mujdey and skordolja sauces. Beans and vegetable stews are also popular as side dishes here. Paprikash is the most popular of them, prepared with meat, pepper, onions and other vegetables. The best combination of vegetables is still obtained in the Moldavian manja. This is a paste made from eggplant or zucchini; vegetables are usually fried over a fire before cooking so that the dish gets that smoky flavor. Manja is also considered the most popular cold appetizer in Moldova; it is eaten fresh or prepared for the winter.

As for cold appetizers, you should definitely try the facaluite beans. This dish is borrowed from Jewish cuisine and is similar to hummus, but is made with beans. You can eat it as a substitute for mashed potatoes or spread it on as a snack. Also among the cold dishes, dried gogoshars (peppers) - makareshti, sweetish with a woody caramel aroma, deserve special attention. However, you can try such a simple and tasty dish almost only in Moldova.

The first courses of Moldovan national cuisine are a real kaleidoscope of ingredients. Soups and borscht turn out colorful and rich. They prepare both cold options for refreshment in the summer, and hot ones to warm up in the winter. The most popular of them:

1. Chorba is a hot soup based on bread kvass with a vegetable mix, resulting in a thick, rich dish with sourness.
2. Zama is also a kvass soup, but it is customary to cook it based on a bran drink; it also includes egg noodles and fewer vegetables, a lot of greens. Can be with fish or meat.
3. Syrbushka is a liquid hot soup made from whey and semolina or corn grits. As a rule, nothing else is put into the soup, except maybe greens.
4. Buryakitse - soup with dumplings and tomatoes.
5. Shurpa is a vegetable soup made from lamb or veal. A distinctive feature is the characteristic smell of meat in the dish.

Of course, in addition to unusual Moldavian dishes, you can also find the usual Ukrainian borscht, light broth or rassolnik. True, they mostly eat first courses with traditional sauces, most often muzhdey.

A separate branch in the national cuisine is occupied by various flour products. Vertutas made from stretched dough are very popular; they are often replaced with something easier to prepare -. The presence of baked goods in the house is considered an indicator of wealth, and at the same time a test of the hostess. The filling is an egg with herbs and meat. Bryndza is especially popular, and not only as a filling. This pickled cheese is also used here as a snack for sweets, as an addition to salads, and as a substitute for hard cheeses. Cheese cheese from sheep, cow or goat milk is produced on an industrial scale and simply at home.

When it comes to baked goods, we can’t help but mention placindas. They can be in the form of whole baked pies or resemble a large round pie. Traditionally, they were still fried in vegetable oil with feta cheese, although today the filling can be anything: cabbage, eggs, meat, pumpkin. Under the influence of Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, people here are addicted to Easter cakes, rolls and loaves. Although such delights of baking are prepared mainly only for the holidays.

On memorable days one cannot do without a sweet table. Desserts are mostly from Turkish cuisine, popular here: halva, sorbet, nut nougat, kitonoage (quince pastille), marshmallows. But there are also our own sweet “inventions”. These include peltya, which is jam or preserves made from the juice of berries and fruits. This way they get rid of small seeds and get a delicate consistency of sweetness, which is prepared for the winter. Another classic Moldavian dessert is gogosh, these are flat thin cookies made from egg dough; when baking, they are sprinkled with crushed cookies and placed in the middle.

Delicious recipes

When discussing national cuisine, one cannot help but consider individual Moldovan recipes. This way you can cook something unusual yourself, even from familiar products. Finding a recipe with photos and step-by-step preparation today is easier than ever.

Of all the flavors of this cuisine, we will choose only the most popular ones.

Hominy

Products for cooking:

• – 1.25 l;
• corn flour – 400 g;
• salt to taste.

Cooking steps:

1. Pour a measured amount of flour onto a baking sheet and place in the oven for a while to dry.
2. Sift the dried flour through a fine sieve. At this time, put a cauldron of water on the fire.
3. When the water boils, add salt and reduce heat. Slowly add flour, stirring the porridge constantly. Stir so that no lumps remain.
4. The porridge sticks to the walls very easily. You need to cook it constantly stirring, with breaks for 1-2 minutes. Cook the mamalyga in this way for half an hour, then turn the heat to low and leave for another 15 minutes. The porridge should thicken well.
5. After this, you need to moisten a wooden spoon in cold water and run it along the edges of the cauldron, this way the hominy will separate from the walls of the dish. Dump the contents onto the board and cut into pieces with thread.

They eat this dish with their hands, dipping it in melted butter and feta cheese. Oil can be replaced with fried (cracklings).

Buryakitse

To prepare you need:

• – 800 ml;
• water – 1 liter;
• - 2 pcs.;
• onions – 4 pcs.;
• root - 1 pc.;
• celery root – 1 pc.;
• dumplings – 500 g.

Vegetables are cut into large pieces, onions into four parts, carrots into large circles. Pour water and tomato juice over all prepared vegetables and put on fire. When everything boils, reduce the flame and add salt, cook under the lid until the vegetables are completely softened. After the vegetables have boiled sufficiently, you can add dumplings and cook everything until they are ready. Served with mujdey or sauce.

Sauces

The mentioned mujdei and skordola sauce are present in almost every dish in Moldavian cuisine. Traditional national sauces are the best option to try the cuisine of another country. After all, they can be applied to native dishes. For muzhdeya, you just need to grind the garlic and salt into a homogeneous mass, add a couple of tablespoons of meat broth and a little vinegar. This dressing can complement dishes of fried or baked vegetables, meat, and potatoes. In Moldova it is even added to fish.

Skordola is also a garlic sauce, but tastier due to walnuts. So, grind the garlic and nuts to a paste, add soaked bread crumb and vegetable oil to it. All ingredients should turn into a homogeneous mass, which is best done with a blender, but for those who want to achieve authenticity, you can grind it in a mortar. Wine vinegar or is added to the finished sauce. The sauce tastes better if it contains more nuts.

Drinks from Moldova

Non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks also form part of any national cuisine. As for non-alcoholic drinks, Moldova is no different from neighboring countries. Homemade berries and fruits are often prepared here; uzvar, a compote made from, is very popular. They are also cooked from the same compotes or jam. The productivity of this country allows you to come up with a lot of natural homemade drinks.

Borsh is considered an unusual Moldavian drink. This is boiled homemade kvass made from wheat bran and boiling water. The ingredients are infused for several days, filtered and drunk. In appearance, it is completely different from the usual one, as it has a milky color. It is also added to chorba or beetroot borscht.

Regarding alcoholic beverages, Moldova has earned itself fame almost throughout the world. Local is an integral attribute of both the entire culture and cuisine in particular. Making wine at home is also popular here, with the red variety occupying a large share. Although you can find here mono and sherry, and rose wine, and Cahors, and dozens of other varieties. Moldovans also prepare their own version of brandy – divin. National alcoholic drinks can brighten up your acquaintance with local cuisine; the main thing is not to overdo it with either alcohol or hominy.

As we have seen, the gastronomic traditions of Moldova consist of many branches. Anyone who wants to experiment with cuisines around the world should definitely pay attention to this one. After all, the traditions of several nations come together here, and therefore there will be a whole lot of amazing discoveries.

National Moldavian cuisine is called a treasure trove of unique recipes. And this is not surprising. After all, Moldova itself is fabulously rich in all kinds of products and methods of preparing them. This has been the case since ancient times, as she was in the right place at the right time. Simply put, the country was on the busy route “from the Varangians to the Greeks”, which Byzantine and Greek merchants used to transport overseas goods. Needless to say, they subsequently “shared” with the Moldovans not only these, but also small culinary tricks that local housewives immediately used in everyday life.

Story

As mentioned earlier, true Moldavian cuisine has its origins in ancient times. True, it was influenced not only by territorial features, but also by individual stages of the development of other peoples.

Judge for yourself: in the X – XIII centuries. Moldova was part of the Old Russian state from 1359 to 1538. - remained independent, then was under Turkish rule for almost 300 years, and in the 18th century. became part of the Russian Empire and remained so for almost a hundred years until the unification with Wallachia and the formation of “Romania”.

All this involuntarily affected the culinary traditions of the Moldovans, although they themselves did not lose touch with Hellenic, Byzantine culture and Greek customs. The best confirmation of this is the Greek dishes that have taken root in Moldavian cuisine, for example, placintas and vertutas. And, of course, culinary customs and techniques that are characteristic of Southern European and Mediterranean cuisines.

First of all, there is a special affection for butter, puff pastry and stretch pastry. This also includes the frequent use of vegetable oils, olive and sunflower, the use of dry grape wine in the process of preparing meat and vegetable dishes, or the creation of spicy and piquant sauces for them.

The Turkish influence is evidenced by the combined processing of products, the frequent use of lamb and, of course, dishes common to both peoples (givech, chorba). By the way, the Slavs also left their mark on Moldavian cuisine by sharing recipes for pickling and fermenting vegetables, as well as making cabbage pies and Easter cakes.

They say that thanks to all this, Moldovan cuisine subsequently became integral, unique and even international. The way she is known and loved throughout the world today.

Character traits

Features of Moldavian cuisine are:

• widespread use of vegetables. Here they are stewed, pickled, salted, fermented and simply eaten raw. Sweet peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, and various types of beans remain held in high esteem for many years;
• richness of meat dishes - it so happened historically that Moldovans equally love pork, lamb, beef, and poultry. Moreover, most often they are cooked over an open fire using a grater - an iron grate placed over hot coals, or in portioned pots. They are served respectively with hot or cold sauces based on dry wine or tomato juice with vegetables;
• active use of spices and herbs - most often garlic, tarragon, pepper, thyme and cloves;
• the originality of the soups - they all have a characteristic sour taste and a huge amount of vegetables and herbs. The most popular soups remain chorba and zama;
• a variety of salads - they are prepared here from vegetables and fruits, fish and meat, and, of course, herbs and are served cold immediately after dressing. Moldovans know plenty of recipes for such dishes, as they make them in a new way every time, simply modifying the set of ingredients;
• abundance of fish – fish dishes are very popular in Moldova. Here they are baked, boiled, fried, including deep-fried, and served with a lot of vegetables;
• sincere love for corn - porridges, soups and main courses are prepared from it, including the famous mamalyga. It is also called local bread, as it is a dish made from thickly brewed corn flour, which is then cut into portions. Many people mistakenly believe that it has been here since ancient times. In fact, corn was introduced to this region in the 17th century. At first it was considered exclusively the food of the poor, and only later it was “made” into a national dish;
• abundance of dairy products, however, Moldovans love feta cheese most of all.

But the most interesting thing is not so much the dishes themselves as their presentation. In this country they know a lot about design and use it skillfully.

Basic cooking methods:

In Moldova you can and should try absolutely everything! But due attention must be paid to its pride - national dishes. And there are plenty of them here!

The same mamalyga. It is said that its ancestor is Italian polenta.

Vertuta and placinta are pies made from stretched dough with different fillings (cottage cheese, vegetables, fruits, eggs and even nuts). Their main difference is their shape. Vertuta is a roll, while placinta is a flat pie.

Chorba is a favorite first course, which is a soup with vegetables and herbs on bread kvass.

Mititei – grilled sausages.

Malai is a corn pie.

Syrbushka is a vegetable soup made with curd whey and corn flour.

Zama is another version of soup made with bread kvass. It differs from chorba in the large number of vegetables.

Makareshti – dried peppers.