Stranger Foods

Photograph of Mâncare de Mazăre şi Bob cu Frigănele.

RomanianMâncare de Mazăre şi Bob cu Frigănele

Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 30 mins

This is a wonderfully light dish, and when made with seasonal peas and broad (fava) beans, it has a delicious sweet flavour. It is served with eggy bread, frigănele, which is a good trick to make a meal more substantial. The aroma that brings everything together is dill, and I know many of you have a love-hate relationship with it, but we love it in Romania. Dill and garden peas are meant to be together. Try it at least once in this combination.

Source: Danube

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

sunflower oil, for frying
2 medium brown onions, finely sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
pinch of salt
400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
300 ml passata
300 g garden peas, fresh or frozen
200 g broad (fava) beans, shelled, fresh or frozen
40 g fresh dill, chopped

For the eggy bread

4 thick slices bread
1 large egg, beaten
25 g Romanian caşcaval or Cheddar cheese

Instructions

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Heat a thin layer of oil on the base of a deep frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Cook the onions and carrots with a pinch of salt until they start to caramelise slightly, then add the tomatoes and passata. Stir well and cook for more, then add the peas and beans together with three-quarters of the dill. Cook until everything is heated evenly.
Meanwhile, soak the bread slices briefly in the beaten egg.
Place them on a baking sheet lined with kitchen foil and grate the cheese on top. Put under a hot grill for a few minutes until the cheese is melted. If you don't have a grill, fry the soaked bread in oil on both sides, remove onto a warm plate and grate the cheese on top while the slices are still hot.
Serve the eggy bread slices on top of the stew with the rest of the dill sprinkled on top.

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