I got back on Thursday from a short break in Transylvania with my friend, where I suffered a mild case of "show and tell" with some lovely traditional dishes. We found a little local tavern called "Roata" (The Wheel) that served the most generous portions, so we sampled a chicken & noodle soup, a chunky soup with tender beef and vegetables, and cabbage rolls.
Traditional dishes in Transylvania
I'm always looking to get more plants into the week, and soup is one of the easiest ways I know. Back home, this new creamy chowderis up on the blog, and easily packs seven different plants in a single bowl. It's ready in about 35 minutes, and it's easy to keep vegetarian by skipping the bacon and using vegetable stock. If you're wondering what to dunk in it, a grilled cheese is a very good idea.
The chicken soup is the one I know best. Mine is the clear, Romanian-style soup I grew up with, with carrots, halved potatoes, optional pasta, and a spoon of garlic sauce if you like.
My cauliflower and corn chowder is about as far from traditional as it gets. It's creamy without cream or flour, topped with roasted cauliflower and corn tossed in smoked paprika for a smoky, caramelized bite. .
Figs, Finally
My sister has a fig tree in her backyard that took over a decade to start bearing fruit, and it's now giving the most amazing sweet, juicy figs. I picked some fresh and ate them right there, such a treat!
Figs and goat cheese is one of my favorite toppings right now, and I just love them on sourdough bread pizza if I want an easy weeknight dinner in about 15 minutes. Two slices with a salad make a full meal, or have a slice next to a bowl of soup: crisp slices of sourdough, fig, goat cheese, and a few peppery arugula leaves, baked until golden and bubbly. Add a drizzle of pomegranate molasses (although someone said that's so 90's 🫣).
Fresh figs bring natural sweetness and fiber, goat cheese adds some protein, and if your sourdough has whole grains and seeds in it, you get even more fiber on every slice.
Since figs are in season, I've been testing a fig galette recipe which I am hoping to share with you next week. It's a lot more than a sweet treat, with extra fiber built in where you wouldn't expect it.
