This dish admittedly takes a lot longer than the 45-minute time limit OWW aims to keep. However, it can be made in that timeframe in an Instant Pot or made ahead and cooked in a slow cooker all day, and the active time is quite short. So, I'm running with it. While green salads are more common during the spring and summer in Romania, it makes a nice counterbalance to the cabbage. If you want a more substantial side, Romanians often serve their cabbage with polenta (mămăligă), roast or mashed potatoes, or buttered egg noodles.
Caramelized Cabbage (Varză Călită) and Sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 thick-cut slices bacon or 4 oz chopped pancetta
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 large head green cabbage
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 cup beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
2 bay leaves
4 links cooked Romanian sausage or cooked, smoked sausage of your choice; kielbasa is a good substitute and readily available
Preheat oven to 400°.
If using bacon, cut it into small cubes. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bacon, until cooked thoroughly. Remove to a small plate, preserving as much fat and oil as possible. Add the onion, lower heat to medium-low, and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft.
Add the tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika and black pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes, until spices are aromatic and tomato paste turns rust.
Add the half the cabbage and sprinkle it with half the salt. Repeat with remaining cabbage and salt. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid. Turn heat to low, and let it cook for about 7 minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt.
Add the cooked bacon, fresh dill, bay leaves, and stock. Toss to combine thoroughly. Place in oven with no lid, for 20 minutes. Do not stir.
At the 20-minute mark, lower the oven temperature to 325°. Stir mixture, cover with a lid, and place in oven for 1½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so, covering after each stir. The cabbage will stick a bit, but that's where the caramelization comes in!
Top with cooked 4 whole sausage links, and cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
If cooking in an Instant Pot, use sauté function to execute steps 2 and 3. Then, add cabbage, salt, cooked bacon, fresh dill, bay leaves, stock, and sliced sausages. Mix to combine. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
If cooking in a slow cooker, follow steps 2 and 3 on stove. Add sautéd onions, cabbage, salt, cooked bacon, fresh dill, bay leaves, and stock to slow cooker. Mix to combine. Cook on low 8-10 hours, placing sausage links on top for the last hour.
Romanian Simple Salad
1 head butter or Boston lettuce, washed and ripped into pieces
2 radishes, sliced (optional)
2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Toss vegetables together in a salad bowl
In a mug or small bowl, mix together the red vinegar with 1 tablespoon of water. Slowly mix in the olive oil, stirring throughout, to emulsify.
Dress salad and serve.
FUN FACTS:
The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania is the heaviest building in the world, weighing in at more than 4 million tons.
In Romania they play a game called oina, and have for hundreds — if not thousands — of years, which is considered to be the grandfather of today's game of baseball.
Some locals say the Hoia Baciu Forest, in northwest Romania, is the most haunted forest in the world.
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