The Shepherd's feast

 🐑 The Shepherd’s Feast: A Love Letter to Romanian Countryside Cooking

Discover an authentic Romanian mountain meal featuring pastramă de oaie (smoked mutton), mămăligă (cornmeal porridge), and telemea de burduf (aged sheep cheese). A rustic feast that captures the soul of traditional Romanian cuisine — hearty, smoky, and steeped in shepherd folklore.

There are plates that whisper of fine dining and Michelin stars — and then there’s this: a feast that proudly smells of wood smoke, sheep, and pure mountain air.

This is Romania on a plate: pastramă de oaie, mămăligă cu smântână, zacusca de fasole, salată de vinete cu ardei, and telemea de burduf.

A meal of shepherds, grandmothers, and appetites grown from hard labor.

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🇷🇴 A Short Story of the Ingredients

1. Pastramă de oaie – The Shepherd’s Treasure

Cured, smoked, and grilled mutton that has seen things. Originally made by Transylvanian shepherds to survive long journeys through the Carpathians, pastramă was their protein-packed insurance policy.

Today, it’s grilled over charcoal — smoky, chewy, and glorious — the mountain’s answer to steak.

2. Mămăligă cu smântână – The Golden Heart

Polenta’s Balkan cousin — humble cornmeal transformed into gold with a bit of salt, butter, and love.

Topped with a dollop of smântână (sour cream), it’s warm comfort in edible form.

3. Zacuscă de fasole – The Winter Hero

Every Romanian pantry has jars of zacusca lined up “for winter.”

This version replaces eggplant with beans, making it creamier and heartier — proof that even legumes can taste luxurious when they’ve met enough roasted pepper and onion.

4. Salată de vinete cu ardei – The Smoky Siren

The smoky eggplant salad every Balkan table knows and loves — here with a touch of roasted pepper for sweetness. Best served cold, be ready to fight for the last spoonful.

5. Telemea de burduf – The Salty Soul

Aged sheep cheese matured in a sheep’s stomach (burduf). Salty, bold, and a little mischievous — like the mountains themselves.

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🧺 Ingredients (Serves 2)

Pastramă de oaie

400 g mutton or lamb (shoulder or leg)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp coarse salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp thyme

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp sunflower oil

Mămăligă

200 g cornmeal (medium grind)

800 ml water

1 tsp salt

25 g butter

A little cream

To Serve

2 tbsp smântână (sour cream)

100 g telemea de burduf

Zacuscă de fasole

200 g dried white beans (soaked overnight)

1 onion, chopped

1 roasted red pepper, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 tbsp sunflower oil

Salt and pepper

Salată de vinete cu ardei

1 large eggplant

1 red pepper

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

Salt to taste

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🔥 Method

Pastramă:

1. Rub the meat with garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, vinegar and oil.

2. Marinate overnight. (Yes, overnight — good things take time.)

3. Grill or sear on high heat until browned outside and juicy inside.

Mămăligă

1. Bring salted water to a boil.

2. Slowly rain in the cornmeal while stirring.

3. Simmer and stir until thick and pulling away from the pot (15–20 min).

4. Stir in butter and cream for extra richness.

Zacuscă de fasole

1. Boil the beans until soft.

2. In a pan, sauté onion in oil until golden.

3. Add roasted pepper, tomato paste, and mashed beans.

4. Season and cook until it becomes a rich paste.

Salată de vinete cu ardei

1. Roast eggplant and pepper over open flame or in the oven until blackened.

2. Peel, drain, and chop finely.

3. Mix with onion, oil, vinegar, and salt. Chill before serving.

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🍽️ Assembly:

On a large plate, place a proud mound of mămăligă in the centre.

Top with a spoonful of smântână.

Add grilled pastramă to one side, zacusca and salată de vinete on the other.

Finish with a wedge of telemea de burduf and a silent promise to go jogging tomorrow.

Eat with a wooden spoon for full authenticity — and shout “Noroc!” between bites.

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🐏 Fun Fact: The Rise of the Mămăligă

For centuries, mămăligă was considered the poor man’s bread.

Peasants would even carry a solidified block in their pocket for lunch.

Today, it’s a national symbol — proof that Romania can turn the simplest grain into gold.

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🏔️ Epilogue

This dish isn’t about refinement — it’s about roots.

Every bite tells a story: shepherds crossing Carpathian valleys, grandmothers stirring bubbling pots, and smoky peppers cooling on windowsills.

It’s hearty, rustic, unapologetic — and once you’ve tasted it, you’ll understand why Romanians smile when they talk about food.

Enjoy 😋🇷🇴