Today at 6pm UK time, free Italian cookie class. I've teamed up with Domenica Marchetti to bring you news from Italy: regional cookies. I'll be baking one of her recipes while Domenica talks about the sweet regions of Italy. Free to join. Link here open.substack.com/live-stream/...

Culinary Tour in the Danube Delta. I'm organising one next year, in June. It's eight days, starting in Bucharest and going all the way to Crisan village and back. On the way, we'll explore northern Dobrogea and the charming Danube Delta. Eat, drink, visit, eat, repeat. Bookings opening soon, DM me.

I'm thrilled to share my @washingtonpost.com article about Romania's beloved murături (pickles and fermented ingredients) and our love for sour flavors in soups and stews. It includes a recipe for Mâncare de castraveți acri—gherkin stew with pork and potatoes. Free link below wapo.st/4np62cQ

Honoured. 🤗

Judging at the Great Taste Awards in Dorset, so I took a walk after work in Shaftesbury. Gold Hill!

Transylvanian caraway potato bread. I’m trying to let people know about this cookery class I’m teaching at Divertimenti in London on June 11th: Transylvanian Cuisine and Paprika Masterclass. This is one of the many dishes you’ll make and taste. See here www.divertimenti.co.uk/products/tra...

I'll be hosting a Paprika Masterclass & Flavours of Transylvania cookery class at Divertimenti in London on June 11th. It's my first class here, so it feels particularly important. Here is what to expect on the evening (a feast!) www.divertimenti.co.uk/blogs/the-co...

What do we eat at Easter in Romania? One delicious answer is Drob. Although it is traditionally made with lamb offal, I have a family recipe with mushrooms that my mum used to make for me when I didn’t like the lamb version. Discover its story here: irinageorgescu.com/easter-mushr...

Gifts for Easter In Romania, Easter is a little like Christmas. We exchange gifts, which can also include books. If you are like us, here are three about Romania's culinary story: Carpathia, Tava and Danube. Available worldwide, whether online or in bookshops, in English and other languages.

I wrote this recipe for BBC Good Food Magazine, and it’s one I’m especially fond of. In Romania, we love cooking with fermented vegetables, and these sauerkraut cabbage leaves are a perfect example of that tradition. Free recipe: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sarm...

Last Tuesday, I joined a panel at University College London as part of the Eating the Balkans series by UCL SSEES, where I spoke about Romanian cuisine. Read the article below and discover one of my favourite Romanian musaca recipes. irinageorgescu.substack.com/p/culinary-i...

🔊 This event is now sold out in person, but you can still join us online to learn more about how food vocabulary in the #Balkans encodes millennia of indigenous evolution, alongside contact, borrowing, and contested belonging. 🗓️ 3 February at 5pm ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

🔊 Due to high demand, this event will now be livestreamed online Join us for an exploration of how food vocabulary in the #Balkans encodes millennia of indigenous evolution, alongside contact, borrowing, and contested belonging. 🗓️ 3 February at 5pm ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...

It's my pleasure to share two recipes with you for your New Year's Eve celebration. I've also included a brief story about pineapples in Romania, if you're intrigued by the subject. Free to access, so please share it. Wishing you a happy New Year. Link here substack.com/@irinageorge...

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.