How to Make Romanian Drob – A Traditional Romanian Easter Appetizer
Lamb Drob is a staple dish of the Romanian Easter Meal. Known also under the name of lamb meatloaf, or lamb haggis, this traditional Romanian drob recipe will make you very popular among your Romanian friends.
What Is the Easter Drob
Not everyone likes drob, and that is because it has an acquired taste and usually people need a bit of time to get used to the idea of what the main ingredients of this dish are. The Romanian cuisine has quite a few delicious dishes that use offal, from the simple pate to tripe soup, sauté chicken liver or fried salted pig’s brain. I know, they sound awful, but you’ll have to believe me, they are delicious dishes. Traditionally, in Romania, each family buys a pig around November/December, and store its meat in the freezer, to have for the entire year. Nothing is wasted: the intestines become sausages, the skin with its underneath fat layer is covered in paprika and then smoked, the ears are roasted and children eat them as cracklings, the trotters go into an aspic dish, and so on.
Drob is a traditional dish made out of lamb offal, most commonly liver and hearts, mixed with onions and spring greens. Traditionally, boiled eggs are placed in the middle of the loaf. Drob is only eaten during Easter time.
How to Make Easter Drob
In England is quite difficult to get lamb offal so I adapted this drob recipe to the what is easily available on the market. If you live near a butcher you can always go and order some lamb offal, but otherwise, don’t worry if you can’t find any. As this year Easter found me alone, under the lockdown, I had to improve a little bit and adapt the recipe as much as I could to the ingredients I could find. The final result was delicious and almost identical to the original taste of drob.
This drob recipe is very easy to make!
To start, I used freshly bough chicken livers from my local supermarket. Usually they come with hearts attached, so I separated them and put them aside.
I used two big Spanish white onions, as I was unable to find the spring onions this drob recipe requires, in the supermarket. I chopped them small and put them in the pan over a medium temperature. As they started to get translucent, I added the chicken hearts and covered the pan with a lid. You need to remember that the hearts need a longer time to cook than the liver, so add it to the pan as soon as possible. Let the onions and heart simmer for around 10 – 15 minutes (I used setting 5 on my electric hob), and then add the chicken livers. Put the lid on and fry at the same temperature for another 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the parsley. To replace the greens from the spring onions I used chives from my own garden. They have a similar taste and they worked out fantastic as a spring onion replacement. I chopped them small together with the parsley and put them in a separate bowl.
Once the chicken liver has cooked, I took if off the hob and waited for it to cool down for a bit. Then, I chopped it into very small pieces. If you have a grinding machine, pass the meat through the large setting. I don’t have one, so I did it manually, with a knife. I mixed the onions, chopped meat and greens, and then added two raw eggs into the composition, to bind everything together. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Don’t put any salt in the pan when cooking the liver because it will get very hard and you don’t want that.
I buttered all the sides of a bread pan and put my mixture inside. It’s easier to use baking paper, but I had none at home. In the middle, I’ve put two boiled eggs. There was space for three, but I only boiled two previously. I sliced some butter and put it on top of the meatloaf and then I put the tray in the preheated oven at 180 degrees, for the next 40 minutes or so.
When it’s ready, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool down in the tray. Put it in the fridge over night and only take it out the following day. Be very gentle as the drob is very delicate and can break easily.
The Easter drob is eaten as an appetizer, cold, with mustard.
Easy Romanian Easter Drob
Ingredients
- 600 grams chicken livers and hearts
- 2 Spanish white onions
- 1 bunch parsley
- 1 bunch chives
- 2 boiled eggs
- 2 raw eggs
- butter
- salt, pepper, nutmeg
Instructions
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Boil 2 eggs for 8-10 minutes
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Heat the oven at 180 degrees.
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Put some oil in a deep pan and add the onions. Fry over a medium temperature for a couple of minutes, until they are translucent.
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Separate the chicken livers from the hearts, and add the hearts to the pan over the onion.
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Put the lid and wait for 10-15 minutes
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Add the chicken liver and fry with the lid on for another 10 minutes
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Chop the greens and set them aside
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Once the liver is cooked, let it cool down for a bit and then chop it into small pieces. If you have a grinding machine, pass the meat through the big grinder.
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Mix the chopped meat with the onions and the greens.
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Add two raw eggs and mix very well.
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Season with salt, pepper and a touch of nutmeg.
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Butter a bread pan, or line it with perchament paper.
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Peel the two boiled eggs. Put the meat mixture into the pan, with the 2 boiled eggs in the middle. Top the meatloaf with butter shavings.
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Put the pan in the oven for 40-50 minutes, until it is fully cooked. Test it with a fork - if it comes out clean, it's ready.
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Take it out of the oven and let it cool down in the tray. Put it in the fridge and leave it overnight. The following day take it out of the tray very carefully, as it's very delicate. Serve cold, with mustard.
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