10-Day Romania
Itinerary

Sarmale

Romania's most beloved dish and its greatest cultural food — minced pork and rice seasoned with dill and onion, wrapped in fermented (brined) cabbage leaves or vine leaves into tight parcels, layered with smoked pork ribs and tomato purée, then slow-braised for four hours; served with mămăligă and smântână; no Romanian Christmas or Easter exists without a pot of sarmale on the stove.

Mămăligă

Romania's ancient cornmeal staple — coarser and firmer than Italian polenta, cooked in salted water until it pulls from the sides of the pot, turned onto a wooden board and cut with thread; eaten with brânză (sheep's milk cheese), smântână, fried eggs or a lamb stew; the mămăligă was the daily bread of Romanian peasants for 300 years and remains a point of national pride.

Mici (Grilled Sausages)

Romania's most beloved street food and barbecue centrepiece — short, skinless cylinders of minced beef, pork and lamb blended with garlic, caraway, thyme, baking soda and a small amount of broth that keeps them juicy; grilled over hardwood charcoal until charred on all sides and moist within; served with yellow mustard and fresh white bread; the national food of Sundays and football matches.

Ciorbă de Burtă

Romania's most restorative soup — a sharp, sour tripe soup of cow stomach slow-cooked in a beef bone broth, finished with egg yolk and sour cream, garlic and wine vinegar; the sourness (from fermented wheat bran, borș, or vinegar) is the defining element; a guaranteed cure for a hangover by universal Romanian consensus; served at 7 a.m. in traditional ciorba bars in Bucharest.

Cozonac

Romania's ceremonial sweet bread — a rich, golden brioche-like loaf enriched with eggs, butter, milk and rum, swirled with a filling of ground walnuts, cocoa, sugar and Turkish delight or poppy seeds; braided and baked for Christmas and Easter; the smell of cozonac baking is Romania's most evocative seasonal memory; bakery queues form at 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve.