Is this prune stew with rice a contender for Romania’s National Dish? To celebrate Romania’s National Day, I’m sharing a dish that blends the sweetness of dried fruits and caramelised sugar, reflecting Byzantine heritage. But what is Romanian cuisine? Find the answer and recipe in comments.

Romanian cuisine unveiled: three essential cookery books. Cookery books as a gateway to Romania’s regional flavours. Three books, along with their translations in German, Dutch, Hungarian and Romanian, reveal how people cook at home, their daily dishes and their feasting customs. Time to order them.

A recipe for pumpkin pie from Romania, ready to be shared by you with friends and family. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/pumpkin-ma...

I’ve spent weeks researching and writing this and it’s finally up - I share some truly odd, curious, often….horrifying (and utterly fascinating) food-related professions that thrived in 19th century Paris. Enjoy! jamieschler.substack.com/p/the-strang...

A hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy of jams, confitures and jellies in Romania. I am, of course, paraphrasing the famous book title, which is perfect for our intergalactic journey of preserving what’s in season: petals, fruit and flowers. Recipes here: irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/a-hitchhik...

Sunday Baking: Covrigi cu Șuncă, ham-filled bread loops. This recipe highlights the variety of loop breads found in Romania and is featured in the 'Danube' cookbook.

Thank you, Andrew.

A beautiful morning here in Wales. Some of these roses will be turned into jelly soon. I’ll share the recipe with you in a new post.

This Sunday, I’m sharing a captivating story about Curban, a feast and private ritual in the Christian Balkans, which I hope you'll find intriguing. It features a recipe for a comforting and healing lamb soup from Bulgaria. Link in the first comment.

Lovely idea x

Toast spread with curd cheese blended with honey and lemon zest, topped with fresh apricots and thyme. If you can’t find curd cheese (or twarog), use crème fraîche or farmer’s cheese. Also, instead of the sourdough toast, you can use toasted bagels, brioche or croissants.

Cornmeal, wild strawberries & sour cream? Read about this speciality from Moldavia, Eastern Romania here irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/cornmeal-a... where I explain this culinary tradition and provide a recipe for cornmeal cheesecake, called Alivancă, and strawberry compote called chisăliță (kisel).

Strawberry inspiration ahead of a post I’m writing about a culinary tradition in Moldavia (follow me to make sure you see it). This one in the photo is only half-traditional: strawberries, sour cream, ground pepper and fig balsamic vinegar.

Sunset reflections! ©️ Birgit/birgits_imagery_world

I wrote a long email about this rich land between the Danube River and the Black Sea. Most of the photographs are from my visits there, where I explored local recipes and discovered the stories of different communities. I hope you'll love the tour. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/between-th...

Deal with the heat like a Romanian: eat brine-fermented gherkins with ice. Eating fermented foods helps maintain the right level of salt and iron in our bodies (which we tend to lose very quickly in hot weather through sweat) and keeps us cool for longer.

Last of the spring flavours: dandelions. Two recipes: one for Dandelion Flower Fritters and the other for a Romany Potato Salad with Dandelions. I hope you'll find the story interesting. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/last-of-th...

For those who don't want to roast an entire leg or shoulder of lamb for Easter, try this simple recipe from my new book, Danube: pastrami lamb chops served with creamy polenta. The spice blend for the pastrami includes fenugreek, paprika, cumin, thyme, garlic and ground pepper. Happy Easter.

New recipe for Easter: plăcintă cu brânză - a wonderful sweet curd cheese pie made with rum-soaked golden raisins. This is a beloved pie in Romania, and I’m sharing a ‘cheat’ method here to prepare it quickly using already rolled store-bought puff pastry. substack.com/@irinageorge...

No other dish in Eastern Europe rivals Romanian Pască. This rich brioche is filled with a blend of curd cheese, sugar, eggs and sultanas. In my family, we celebrate the arrival of Easter with a slice of Pască at midnight. Recipe here: irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/romanian-p...

It's Passover and here's a beautiful piece of writing by @1dish4theroad.bsky.social www.1dish4theroad.com/2022/04/bitt...

A Spring Tradition in Romania: nettles with polenta. I would be thrilled if you could make this tradition a part of your life too. See how: irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/a-spring-t...

I recorded a video about Danube, only to discover it is no longer needed. So I’ll share the first part here, and I hope you enjoy it.

Garden pea and broad bean stew with cheesy polenta wedges. Easy and light, it can serve as a vegetarian lunch or a side dish for fish or chicken...or both. Garden peas and dill make a combination that will change your mind about this herb. Recipe here: irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/a-dish-tha...

Spring is the right season to embrace the bounty of green and wild foraged plants, which are rich in vitamins and nutrients as they begin to sprout. It’s the perfect time for spinach, red orach, nettles, wild garlic and dock leaves. Find the recipe here irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/the-green-....

Baclava de Tulcea comes from the Turkish and Tatar communities in Tulcea, a city on the Danube in eastern Romania. The filo triangles are shaped individually, filled with chopped walnuts, and then soaked in lemon-flavoured syrup after baking. You will find its story and recipe in my book, Danube.

In today's YOU Magazine from The Mail on Sunday, I have six recipes from my new book, ‘Danube’ including a Fried Pepper Salad, complete with a video on the Daily Mail website. The real joy of my writing journey is knowing that you’ve cooked dishes from my part of Europe and loved them.

Celebrating Pancake Day with these fabulous Hungarian crêpes, known as Hortobágyi Palacsinta. The crêpes are filled with a beef ragù, I then strained some of the sauce and thickened it with sour cream mixed with flour. It is served with more sour cream on top, parsley, and chilli oil.

Come cook with me! I'm delighted to announce this online cookery class. Check the link to see what we are going to make. I also have a few discount codes for you: • 15% off with no usage limit: IRINA15 • 50% off, but only for the first 20 uses: PASTRY50 www.eventbrite.com/e/pastry-dum...

Thank you very much for this lovely post, Nicola.

Pilaf cu pui is a chicken and rice dish with potatoes. For The Independent, I served it with grated courgettes mixed with garlic, two traditional Romanian flavours. If you like the recipe (link below), please also buy the book. You'll find similar recipes that are equally approachable and delicious.

Glorious!

Thank you, Paul Dring, for choosing Danube as the Book of the Week in the Waitrose Weekend newspaper (out now). I've really enjoyed our conversation, and I hope you'll try some recipes from it. www.weekend-online.com/issue732/ (page 34) x

Lovely story. Maramureş is a magical region, less busy than the Saxon part of Transylvania in the southeast.

This is very special: author Domenica Marchetti @domenicacooks.bsky.social and I chatted about my new book, Danube, and my reasons for writing about this cuisine. The interview includes free recipes and a stunning illustration by the talented Daniella Bracco. My heartfelt thanks to you both!

I’m thrilled to see two recipes from my new book, Danube, featured in today’s The Guardian: a fish papricaș from Budapest and a leek and olive stew from Oltenia. They are in excellent company, so do pick up the newspaper today and enjoy all these dishes.

Sound on! Cornmeal and wine crackers (sound on) are inspired by two staple ingredients in Oltenia, southern Romania: cornmeal and wine. They are from my new book, ‘Danube, Recipes from Eastern Europe’, which is full of approachable, easy and straightforward recipes like this one. Recipe in comments.

There’s a lot of Irish love for Danube at the moment. Gloss Magazine featured this recipe to celebrate Pie Day, and I'm now sharing it with you. Plăcintă cu praz, leek pie recipe is free to access and you will find many other recipes like this one in my book: easy, approachable and seasonal.

I'm very proud of this feature in Corriere della Sera about the Eastern European cuisine along the Danube River. This is a 'pinch me moment’, and I hope you don't mind me sharing it with you.

A recipe from my new book, Danube, and an unexpected ethnic community in this part of Eastern Europe: Czech villages. 'Danube' is now available to buy everywhere in the world, in independent bookshops and online. Enjoy the recipes!

I woke up this morning to discover that Danube is in The Independent today. Not once, but twice :-) Links here: www.independent.co.uk/life-style/f... and here www.independent.co.uk/life-style/f...

That’s great and thank you so much.

It’s been a long and exciting day: I took Danube to the BBC Radio London. Speaking with Robert Elms about Danube and Eastern European cuisine was a dream come true.

I'm thrilled to see this Leek Stew with Olives from southern Romania on The Splendid Table. Great recipe and story from my new book Danube. www.splendidtable.org/story/2025/0...

Thank you @olivemagazine.bsky.social for making Danube your book of the month x

Great to be back on Channel 4 Sunday Brunch this morning. We talked about my new book, Danube, and tasted a few dishes: breaded fried cheese, leek stew with olives, cornbread and brioche buns with curd cheese, poppyseeds and strawberry jam. x

This is Danube. I’m thrilled to announce my new book as we kick off the new year. I travel along the banks of the River Danube from its entry in Romania to its mouth at the Black Sea, where it is a natural boundary between Romania, Serbia & Bulgaria, and I explore the cuisine of these borderlands.

Gorgeous.

Cozonac, the traditional Romanian Christmas bread, and its unwritten baking rules, meaning superstitions. A free recipe and story, including how my mother baked it every year when I was a child. Link here, I hope you'll enjoy it:

Comfort and joy x