Top 5 Romanian Offal Dishes

Ciorbă de burtă is a creamy, sour and garlicky, yellow-colored Romanian soup containing strips of beef tripe and slices of red pepper. Although considered a rare delicacy and an acquired taste due to its main ingredient being the lining of a cow’s stomach, ciorbă de burtă is a rather simple dish. It is basically tripe soup seasoned with vinegar, sour cream, and mujdei – a spicy garlic sauce made from crushed garlic cloves, salt, and oil. Various ingredients are used for the broth, including onions, carrots, celery, parsley and parsnip roots, lovage, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Ciorbă de burtă is traditionally served piping hot with spicy green peppers and a dollop or two of sour cream on the side. Just like many other hallmarks of Romanian cuisine, ciorbă de burtă has its origins in the Ottoman Empire.Expand

Limbă cu măsline is a traditional stew based on beef tongue and olives. The stew typically consists of slices of cooked beef tongue stewed with tomato sauce and pitted olives. It is usually seasoned with lemon juice and a handful of freshly chopped parsley or chives. Soft and juicy slices of beef tongue topped with an aromatic and robust tomato sauce with olives make for a classic Romanian dish, commonly eaten as an appetizer on festive occasions, such as New Year’s Eve. Served both hot and cold, the stew is usually accompanied by mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread.Expand

Although the ingredients and the methods of preparation may vary, drob de miel usually consists of a mixture of ground lamb offal, bread dipped in milk, chopped herbs, hard-boiled eggs, and vegetables, wrapped in lamb caul fat. The meatloaf is baked in the oven and can also be prepared with pastry sheets instead of lamb caul fat, a dish known as drob de miel în aluat. Due to its similarity to the Scottish haggis, this dish is often called Romanian lamb haggis. In Romania, this is a typical Easter dish, served as a main course accompanied by various side dishes, or as a simple appetizer.Expand

Sângerete is a type of traditional Romanian blood sausage, which is typically boiled. It consists of a mixture of pork blood combined with ground pork meat, fat, and spices. Often seasoned with garlic, thyme, allspice, coriander, or nutmeg, the sausage can also contain boiled rice as a filler. Romanian blood sausages are also called cârnaţi cu sânge, from the Romanian sânge, meaning blood in English. Due to the pork blood, the sausages are very juicy and have an exquisite flavor. Although each region in Romania has its own version of blood sausages, they are especially popular in Transylvania. In Romania, blood sausages are traditionally eaten during Christmas.Expand

Momițe is a traditional offal dish originating from Romania, consisting of polenta-coated sweetbreads. The dish is usually made with a combination of lamb sweetbreads, eggs, vinegar, cornmeal, butter, and oil. The sweetbreads are rinsed and simmered over medium heat in water and vinegar. They are then dipped in cold water and cleaned of sinew and skin. The sweetbreads are dipped in whisked eggs and cornmeal, then slowly fried in butter over low heat on both sides until golden brown. Once done, momițe are typically served with peas and the garlic-based mujdei sauce on the side.Expand