Polish herrings

Ingredients

* 500gr herring fillets (fileu de scrumbie)
* 200ml milk (lapte)
* 300gr apples (mere)
* 2 tablespoons oil (linguriţe de ulei)
* A little dried marjoram (nişte măgheran uscat)
* Some sugar (puţin zahăr)
* The juice of one lemon (suc de lămâie)
* The peel of one lemon (coajă de lămâie)
* Paprika (paprica)
* 2 tablespoons tomato puree (linguriţe de pireu de tomate)

Instructions

1. Soak the fillets in milk for two hours.
2. Peel and slice the apples.
3. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apple slices (this stops them turning brown).
4. Put the oil (two tablespoons) in a frying pan. Fry the sliced apples with the marjoram, lemon peel and lemon juice.
5. Add a pinch of salt, pepper and paprika.
6. Mix all together and stew the apples for some minutes, then add two tablespoons of tomato puree and a little sugar.
7. Let the apple mixture cool down.
8. Cut each fillet in two, layer up these pieces in a dish. Cover them with fried apple mixture.
9. Put the dish into the fridge for twenty-four hours. Before serving, garnish the dish with parsley, lemon and olives.

Bon appetite! / Poftă bună!

Khitchuri

This is a very popular Bangaldeshi recipe.

Ingredients
* 3 cups fine rice (orez fin)
* 1 cup of split yellow lentils (dry-fried)
* ¾ cup oil (ulei)
* 8 cups boiling water (apa la fierbere, clocotinda)
* 1 tablespoon melted butter (unt topit)
* ½ teaspoon crushed turmeric (măcinată)
* 1 teaspoon crushed ginger (ghimbir)
* ¼ teaspoon crushed garlic (usturoi)
* 2 onions peeled and sliced (cepe cojite şi tăiate felii)
* 4 pods of cardamom (păstăi de nucsoara)
* 2 Cloves (căţei de usturoi)
* 2 bay leaves (frunze de dafin)
* 5 whole green chili, chopped (ardei american chili întreg, fărămiţat)
* 3 pieces of cinnamon (scorţişoară)
* Salt: as required (sare după gust)

Instructions

1. Pour some water into the rice and let it soften for 20 minutes. Then mix the rice with the lentils and next with crushed ginger, garlic and turmeric.
2. Pour oil into a saucepan. When it is hot, add the onion followed by cardamom, clove, bay leaves, cinnamon and salt. Keep the heat low.
3. When the onions turn a little brownish, add the mixture of rice, lentils and spices and stir them as much as possible.
4. When it is fried enough add boiling water; stir well and cover it with a lid. Raise the heat. Keep stirring now and then, opening the lid. When it starts to simmer and the water and the solid mixture are leveled on the surface, add the chilies. Keep the heat low and keep it like that for to 20 minutes. Open the lid and stir in the melted butter . Keep it covered for 5 more minutes and you are ready to serve.

Lemon potatoes / Cartofi cu lămâie

Ingredients
* 1 large potato or 2 medium (un cartof mare sau doi medii)
* 1 lemon (lămâie)
* 3 cloves of garlic or spring onions if you prefer) (căţei de usturoi sau cepe de primăvară după preferinţe)
* ½ a red chilli (chili roşu)
* oil (ulei)
* salt (sare)
* sugar (zahăr)

Instructions
1. Peel, wash, slice the potato. Then shred the slices as finely and delicately as possible.
2. Put the potato in to a colander and rinse in cold water.
3. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice into a bowl.
4. Mix the lemon juice with some salt and sugar, to your taste.
5. Chop the red chilli into small slices.
6. Chop the garlic (or spring onions) into fine pieces.
7. Heat the frying pan and put in some cooking oil to heat for 1 minute till it gets very hot
8. Add the chilli and garlic to stir for 10 seconds.
9. Add the potato and stir for 2 minutes
10. Add the lemon juice already mixed with salt and sugar and stir for 5 seconds.
11. The dish is ready.

Serve hot or cold.
(Serviţi-o fierbinte sau rece)

Spring rolls

Ingredients
* 8 spring roll skins (foi pentru pacheţele de primăvară)
* 2 oz (uncie; 28.3 gr.) thinly sliced pork (carne de porc feliată subţire), cut into thin strips (carne tăiata făşii subţiri)
(if you prefer vegetarian, you do not need to include the meat!)
(dacă preferi varianta vegetariană, puteţi să nu adăugaţi carnea)

Sauce mixture:
* 1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (1 linguriţă oţet de orez chinezesc)
* 1 teaspoon soy sauce and cornstarch (1 linguriţă sos de soia şi amidon de porumb)
* A few grains of pepper (câteve boabe de piper)
* 2 large dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water, drained and cut into strips
(2 mari ciuperci chinezeşti uscate, lăsate în apă, uscate şi tăiate fâşii)
* 2.5 oz boiled bamboo shoots, cut into strips (2.5 uncii de muguri de bambus, tăiate făşii)
* 2 cabbage leaves, cut into strips (foi de varză, tăiate fâşii)
* Half a teaspoon salt (o jumatate de lingurita de sare)
* Flour-and-water paste
(mix a little flour and water to make a paste: this will be used to „glue” the spring roll together)
(se amestecă făină şi apă pentru a face pastă:aceasta se va folosi pentru a lipi pacheţele împreună)
* Oil for deep frying plus 4 tablespoons more of oil
(ulei pentru prăjire plus 4 linguriţe de ulei)

Instructions

1. Combine the pork with the sauce mixture. Let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a wok, and stir-fry the pork briefly. Remove.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the salt. Stir fry the vegetables, then mix in the pork. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool thoroughly.
4. Place some of the filling a little above the centre of each spring roll skin. Fold the upper edge over the filling, turn in the 2 sides, and roll it down. Brush the bottom edge with the flour-and-water paste to seal it thoroughly.
5. Heat the deep-frying oil over moderate heat. Deep-fry the spring rolls. Turn them frequently.
6. Serve immediately with table seasonings.

Spaghetti with tuna fish

This recipe was sent in by Susanna Meucci from Italy

„This is very easy and quick to be made. It is fresh and colourful. The ingredients are low in calories and rich in omega3. It seems an ordinary recipe but the secret is to put a lot of oregano and basil and the taste will be excellent!! It serves 4 people. ”

Ingredients

* 300g tuna fish in olive oil
* 300g spaghetti
* 250g fresh tomatoes
* 10 basil leaves
* 2 spoonfuls of oregano

Vocabulary
to cut – a tăia;
a pan – tigae, cratiţă;
to cook – a prepara;
a piece – o bucată;
boiling water – apă la fierbere, coloctindă
ready – pregătit;
drain – a scurge;
mix – amestec;
stir – a amesteca, a agita

Instructions

1. Cut the tomatoes and put them in the large pan with olive oil, salt and a lot of oregano
2. Cook them for about 15 min
3. Add the tuna fish, cut in small pieces and let it cook for 2 min
4. Put spaghetti in a pan of boiling water and cook until ready (al dente)
5. Drain the pasta and add to the tuna and tomato mix, stirring constantly, and serve immediately with a lot of basil.