Gastronomy in Gorj

For people from Gorj, sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls) and cold meats are always served at the table, even if guests from other parts of the country may find it a bit strange. When it's too hot outside, housewives put in sarmale, in addition to beef and garden vegetables (bell peppers, capia peppers, eggplants), minced so they are lighter.

Those who want put some wheat flour bread next to them, but corn flour is also used. This is so popular in Gorj that it replaces regular bread. The recipe, as Cornelia Brâncuşi of Peştişani makes it, can not fail. Boil water with salt and sugar, and meanwhile sift and mix corn flour with wheat flour.

Pour the boiling water over the flour and mix very well, obtaining a slightly longer porridge. Put it in a rectangular tray, put it in the oven, and when it's ready, cut slices. There is no secret.

AFTER TRADITION

And because in the villages of Gorj the fast days are respected, food is made according to tradition. "We cut the leeks into slices that we fry in oil, then we cut tubes of leek about 5-6 centimeters. We sauté them in a pan and give them taste with tomato juice. It's a fast day food that is made very quickly, like the one with plums. Boil the plums a little, or rather scald them so that the smoke comes out of them, then put them to boil with enough water to cover them.

Make a sauce from flour and margarine, then mix. Some people eat it plain, others with bread." You can try to prepare at home fish jelly (winner of the "Cold Meats Festival"), chicken and mushroom casserole - as Cornelia Brăncuşi knows how to make them - or cold meats in coţovaică, an unusual recipe by Mărioara Jerca from Tismana.

It is very good and appreciated by all who taste it. Fry a little onion in very little oil, add the cleaned and washed chicken pieces, then saute the washed and scalded mushrooms. They are put on top of the chicken pieces to leave their flavors, and at the end a dressing is made of cream and a little flour. Pour over the mixture of chicken and mushrooms in the pan, and bind a little more. Season with dill and parsley. Put dill on half of the composition, and parsley on the other, so that there are two different tastes. Put everything in the oven before putting the greens.

Put any kind of fish, because it has to boil for about four hours on low heat without disturbing. Strain the resulting juice. This fish is for juice only. To get all the gelatin out of the fish, he has to boil it for several hours. The juice is strained and then another fish is placed in the bowls, which I just scald, preferably one without bones so that it can be eaten easily. I put vegetables, pour the strained juice without adding the cooked fish. In fact, I sacrifice a fish on the altar of taste.

Carp is very good for juice, because it is a little sweet and fatty. For the pieces that remain in the bowl, any kind of fish fillet is good (trout works, even smoked fish). Fish fillet is good, but it is not as spicy as pork or poultry, so you have to give it something to make it taste better. Here in Gorj, fish pie is made, because there are days when it is eaten during fasting. And yet, people want to eat fast food with gusto. And then we make fish pie, because it's a release.

When making the turkey breast you have to be very careful when you boil it so it doesn't get cloudy. Put carrot, pepper, peas, any kind of vegetables. Even potato. This is sweeter and gives it a special taste.

In this recipe, the clay pot or the modern ceramic bowl has been replaced with a vegetable container. Half a well-dried and cored pumpkin is known in Gorj as cotovaica. The pumpkin is cut, boiled and then the core is removed and the skin is left to dry. It is best when the pumpkin is well-ripened. The bark gets stronger from year to year and then it becomes like a vessel.

The recipe for piftia is the same, i.e. pork, beef or fish, anything with gelatin, is boiled very well. Carrot, onion, bay leaves are added, these are the ingredients specific to piftia. Of course, there is also a secret: they should be boiled very well and have joints, so that the gelatin comes out. They are kept in a cool place, so that they harden. The tastiest are the cold ones kept in clay or cotovaica pots.

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