My new host Mom has been making all the traditional dishes for me since I arrived at site….and quite well I should add. Best part is, she let’s me help with everything so I am learning quickly. She works a lot, so I want to be able to help out once I know my way around these dishes a little better.
I decided it’s time to start introducing you to some of the goods. Starting with the sarmale we made the other night. Sarmale is not only delicious, but also not a far stretch from something we might make in the states…its an easy transition. They come in three forms: with peppers, with grape leaves from our front stoop, and with cabbage leaves. The basic concept is a stuffed pepper (or cabbage leaf, or grape leaf), but the flavor is a little different. It’s not spicy, like most Moldovan food. And the smaller you can roll the leaves, the more delicious they will be (that is, for those of us that eat with our eyes). The filling is made from rice, another grain I haven’t found the English translation for, carrots, tomatoes, and sometimes cabbage or meat. I prefer them without the meat. Go figure.

So we load them up in this pot and cook them on the stove long enough for the rice to cook. I think they taste just fine when cooked in water, but my host mom insists they are better if we use chicken stock. Take your pick.

But also this brings up another point I wanted to make about cookware from my short time in Moldova. Cast iron, sorry telfon and the dozens of other non-stick shenanigans, but I think it’s the way to go. You never have to worry about what utensils you have to use in it to avoid scrapping the toxins into your food. It heats up quick, and keeps food hot long after you’ve turned off the gas. I might never go back to the “light weights.”