The demented dishes of the Transylvanian Saxons remained a legacy in Transylvania. The recipes that amaze you and push you to excesses
The Saxons lived alongside the Romanians, in Transylvania, for almost a millennium. Coming from Germany, they brought with them their crafts, culture, but also their authentic gastronomy. Some of these delicious and hearty Saxon dishes have remained in the culinary tradition of Transylvania to this day.
Stew
The Saxons represented, for almost a millennium, one of the pillars of the Transylvanian identity, alongside Romanians — the majority population — and Hungarians and Szeklers. Of German origin, coming mainly from the Rhine and Moselle regions (Flemish, Walloons, Franconians), they were called by the Hungarian king, Geza II, to colonize the eastern area of the Carpathian Arc between the years 1141 and 1242. Later, King Andrew II reconfirmed their privileges, assuring them a wide administrative and religious autonomy, which led to a remarkable economic flourishing and to the raising of numerous fortified towns and churches.
Skilled craftsmen and merchants, the Saxons played an essential role in the urban, economic and cultural development of Transylvania for over eight centuries. During the communist period, however, a real exodus occurred: they were “redeemed” by the German authorities to allow them to emigrate to the Federal Republic of Germany. Although today there are few Saxons left in Transylvania, their heritage constitutes a true brand of Transylvania.
In addition to medieval towns and fortified churches, they left behind a strong and distinct gastronomic culture. Saxon cuisine is a fascinating blend of Germanic rigor, Austrian influences and local Transylvanian ingredients. It is a “household” gastronomy, consistent and practical, based on food preservation and an interesting balance between sweet, salty and sour. Many of these dishes are a delight, especially for those who appreciate complementary tastes and aromatic marmalades with enveloping textures.
The kings of the unforgettable “soups” of Transylvania
Soups or “zupele”, as they say in the Saxon areas of Transylvania, have always been a specialty of the German community in Transylvania. For any homely Saxon, a meal without gravy was a missed culinary experience. “Soups” were a mandatory condition of the culinary well-being of the Saxon family. Foods that are filling, healthy, delicious and, why not, also economical in many cases. Saxon gastronomy abounds in culinary preparations such as soups, jams, soups.
Salad soup
A few of these dishes are particularly famous, and one of them is lettuce soup. To prepare it, we need the following ingredients: two heads of lettuce, a maximum of 200 grams of smoked bacon, kaiser or smoked ribs (the latter is specific to the Saxons), four cloves of garlic, an onion, paprika, cream, bone broth and an acidifying agent (usually vinegar).
It is easy and quick to prepare. First, fry the bacon or kaiser in a deep pot until it releases its fat and turns brown (careful, under no circumstances burnt!). Immediately add crushed garlic and chopped onion to the heated fat, leaving them on the fire for no more than a minute. Then, put the paprika and pepper, mixing quickly, after which everything is extinguished immediately with water or bone broth (the ideal variant), to avoid burning the paprika, which could give a bitter taste.
Let the composition boil for a maximum of 15 minutes, until the smoke softens, then add the well-washed salad and cut into suitable pieces. After another seven minutes of boiling, it's time to “dress” the soup. In a bowl, we temper the cream by gradually mixing it with hot soup polonicas, until the mixture reaches a temperature close to that of the pot, thus avoiding cutting or “cheesing” it. Attention: during all this time, the fire must be turned off. Finally, pour the creamy mixture into the pot.
Cumin soup PHOTO Mircea Groza
Season with vinegar and dill and season with salt. The Saxon soup is ready. For good measure, an omelette cut into thin strips was also added.
At the same time, another emblematic, more subsistence, dish of the Saxons was cumin soup. It is even easier to prepare. You need vegetables: three carrots, a parsnip and an onion, lard (to be authentic), two tomatoes, a bell pepper and a potato. Obviously, if it's still cumin soup, we need a spoon full of such seeds. Don't forget salt, pepper and a spoonful of flour. Let's see how it prepares. Boil the whole vegetables, i.e. parsnips, carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and bell peppers. After they are boiled well, they are removed from the juice. Obviously, we don't throw away the juice. Separately, temper the flour with the cumin. When the flour becomes golden, mixing well, extinguish with a glass of water. Let it boil. Then it is poured into the vegetable juice.
Mash the boiled vegetables. Before it was more difficult, now a blender solves the problem in seconds. Pour the vegetable cream into the juice and mix well until smooth. An aromatic delicacy to tell the grandchildren.
“Soups” with fruit, a Saxon delicacy
We cannot end the discussion of the Saxon mastery of soups and stews without mentioning the famous Saxon fruit “soups”. They are made with apples, plums, quinces, pears or blackberries. Pure madness that is nowhere near vegan. On the contrary, an explosion of complementary flavors. To enjoy the Saxon fruit soups, you need 400 grams of veal or pork (fattier, juicier), cream, vegetables (carrot, parsnip, celery), salt, sugar, parsley and, of course, the fruit that becomes the star ingredient (you can choose between apples, pears, plums, greens and whatever else grows on the trees). Cut the vegetables and meat into cubes and put them to boil. Prepare the fruit and cut it into small pieces. The meat foams and, after boiling, is taken out together with the vegetables. Add salt and sugar to taste. The fruits are boiled in the warm juice from the meat and vegetables. After boiling the fruit as well, put the meat and vegetables back in place, drizzle with cream, sprinkle with parsley and it's ready to serve.
Tomato, fruit or vegetable. Specialists cut the question about the tasty fruit of the earth
Saxon stew, an unmissable dish
As respectable Germans, the Saxons had a gastronomic passion for pork, cabbage, and interesting combinations. This is precisely why Saxon cuisine abounds in stew and casserole recipes, with a perfect combination of vegetables and fatty meat. One of the emblematic recipes of the Transylvanian Saxons is pork broccoli. It's basically a low and hearty stew with smoked meat and cabbage. To cook it, you need one kilogram of smoked pork (preferably smoked pork), vegetables and herbs (garlic, two large onions, cumin, bay leaves, peppercorns, a large cabbage). Don't forget the tomatoes in the broth. The first time we boil the smoked meat until it falls off the bone.
We take it out, let it cool and cut it into suitable pieces. We keep the water in which it boiled for the sauce (don't forget to foam during boiling, so that a clear juice remains). Heat the lard in a large pot and add the finely chopped onion and cumin. When the onion becomes glassy, quickly add the paprika, mix and add the finely chopped cabbage. When the cabbage has browned slightly, add the chopped smoked meat, the broth, the bay leaves and the crushed garlic. Everything is extinguished with the juice from the smokehouse, enough to cover half the ingredients.
It is put on a low fire, with a lid. We mix from time to time. When the cabbage is soft, add pepper, season with salt and serve. Properly cooked pork broccoli is so tasty and flavorful that you definitely risk overdoing it. Obviously, there are versions of broccoli with beans or potatoes instead of cabbage. But with cabbage is the traditional recipe.
Saxon pot, gut-soothing food
Another legendary dish of the Saxons is the pot. It is, in fact, prepared like a stew, only much more filling and with some soup. “The base of a Saxon pot is the soup! Everything that is added, everything that is fried, boiled, baked, browned, stewed passes through the tastes and smells of “claren soup”. In the Saxons, if there is no soup, there is nothing!”stated Radu Anton Roman in “Romanian Kitchen Stories”.
Well, for an authentic Saxon pot you need: a kilo of beef (sparrow, boneless), half a kilo of fresh tomatoes, three bell peppers, at least a kilo of potatoes, parsnips, celery, onions, three carrots, butter, green parsley, red wine, cream, flour and bone broth. The first time, we cut the meat into suitable pieces, beat it a little, salt it and put it in flour. Then we fry it in butter until it turns brown.
Stew
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Deglaze with a little bone broth and simmer, covered, to simmer. In the meantime, cut the onion and saute it in butter. Add tomato paste, mix well, add pepper, and finally extinguish with a liter of bone broth. Let it boil for about half an hour, then pour all the mixture over the meat. Separately, thinly chop the carrots, celery and parsnips. They are stewed, also separately. Put out with a glass of soup and let it soak a little. Then it is turned over the meat.
We clean the potatoes, cut them into cubes. We move quickly and chop the tomatoes, peppers, and obviously, like we did with everything else, add them (including the potatoes) on top of the rest of the simmering ingredients in the soup. After 10 minutes, add finely chopped parsley and a glass of red wine. The pot is covered with cream. A Saxon madness.
And, if we are still in the area of Saxon refinements, we can also talk about the roast pork with gooseberry sauce. It is a tasty traditional dish, with a unique contrast between the tender meat and the aromatic, sweet-sour sauce.
We need one kilogram of pork (neck, cutlet or thigh), which we cut into suitable pieces and fry in hot lard. After the meat is browned on all sides, add either a little water or a little bone broth and put the meat in the oven, at the right heat, for 60 minutes, until very tender. While the meat is in the oven, prepare the gooseberry sauce. Put the washed fruit in a small saucepan, add water (or soup), sugar, a little salt and cloves (not too much). Let everything simmer on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the fruit softens and breaks.
Then we pass the sauce with a vertical blender, and then we pass it through a fine strainer to remove the seeds or skins. The sauce is put on the fire, again, and the boiling continues a little longer. If we want a thicker sauce, dissolve some starch in a little cold water, then put it in the sauce and let it boil, stirring constantly. Remove the steak from the oven and pour the gooseberry sauce on top. A really interesting taste.
