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TOP 7 Romanian meals with no meat
Are you tired with meat meals? Would you like to have finally something else than a big Wiener schnitzel, pljeskavica or grilled meat? If so, try grilled cheese, fish, grilled vegetables, or meatless burgers!
So, if you are curious what to choose or what might be the best option – read the post!
1. Grilled vegetables
Maybe the easiest way to skip meat, is to pick grilled vegetables as a main course. Almost every restaurant offers them as a side dish, but you can always ask for a double portion, that would greatly work as a main dish.
The set of grilled vegetables may vary from place to place and also depends on the season. Commonly used are eggplant slices, bell pepper chops, onion and zucchini. Sometimes you may get tomatoes or small cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and spicy peppers.
Eggplant is usually cut into one-centimeter-high slices and it is soaked in oil. Even though you order grilled vegetables, they are usually prepared on a flat pan or on a flat grill that is used for burgers. In consequence, some oil that is used to grill them makes the eggplant taste like a sponge. Eggplant very easily gets soaked and becomes relatively heavy. Hardly ever any vegetables are grilled on a garden, brass grill where the vegetables juice or fat from meat drops down.
Zucchinis are grilled in almost the same way and form as eggplant. However, they are cut into thinner slices and definitively less fatty. For both vegetables, the outer skin is chewy and tender.
Whole bell peppers are either cut into small chunks or into six or eight pieces, then grilled from both sides. Onions will usually come either in quarters, halves or slices. Apart from that, you might sometimes get whole, small onions, that are well grilled from all sides and are also very delicate inside.
2. Whole grilled fish
That is something we highly recommend you as long as you both like and eat fish. Mainly it would be a trout that is stuffed with herbs and spices. In many places the fish is sold per 100 gr or 10 dag, so be careful while ordering a fish meal, as you might be surprised both by the final price and the size of the fish that comes on your plate. Ask at the beginning about the previewed size of the serving or, in case you are afraid it would be too big, ask to make an order only when the size of the fish does not exceed a certain number of grams.
Coming back to the fish. Grilled fish are usually in restaurants, motels or bars that are located not so far away from rivers. That is especially important in case of local, sweet-water fish. In these places, you might get some species typical for the region. Of course, if you opt for a salmon, it does not matter wherever you choose it. Also, in case of a salmon, it would never be a whole one, do not worry. As the fish is relatively big, menus offer salmon filets and not a whole fish.
River fishes are usually fresh, so you avoid any freezing process that deprives it of flavors. Fish is stuffed with aromatic local herbs, spicy peppers, and sometimes with lemon slices. Ask for a mild version if you would like to avoid a hot and a spicy meal. Order to it a fresh salad made of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers and add baked potatoes. Or, have a slice or two of a local bread that has a crispy crust and smells wonderfully. Avoid all typical side dishes like fries as they will diminish the pleasure of eating something fresh, aromatic, and healthy.
3. Grilled cheese
If you decide to pick this one, avoid a typical and available almost everywhere camembert. Try something local as a grilled goat or sheep cheese, you will surely not regret your choice. Goat or sheep cheese is grilled usually with no breadcrumbs, what allows you to fully appreciate its texture and flavor. We recommend you take a grilled cheese set on a lettuce salad with tomatoes, olives, sprouts and seeds. Add to it a little bit of a wine vinegar and a natural olive oil.
4. Sweet pancakes
One of the most typical desserts in Romania and Hungary is a sweet pancake. Served with chocolate, fruits, and whipped cream, with some sweet garnish like a toffee sauce etc. The pancake is thin and rolled into a flat rectangular. Sometimes it might be served in triangles, however this form of serving is less popular. The size of the pancake is smaller than the one of French pancakes or of these that are sold alone on stalls. From time to time, instead of one pancake you might get a set of two of them placed side by side or one on the other with a slight shift. Then on top of them comes whipped cream, that very often is a fresh one and not the one that you can buy in the shop. Additionally, an ice cream scoop can be placed aside, and all would be garnished with a chocolate sauce. In some areas, pancakes are only filled with chocolate and then sprinkled with a powder sugar and garnished with some fresh fruits, or herbs like peppermint.
Although it is treated as a dessert, you could have it as a light meal. In the winter time, choose hot versions of pancakes with cinnamon and Christmas spices, that would nicely warm you up.
Read also about Croatian desserts that include pancakes too.
5. Whole baked fish
Everything that is fresh, prepared just in time and especially for you is much better than anything that has been waiting for serving a couple of hours or even days. No freezing process, no temperature changes, no preservatives, and no extra stuff that should extend the expiration date. Imagine fishing guys delivering a super fresh fish to the restaurant just the same day it is being served to you. Wonderful, isn’t it? Try it at least once. Choose a whole grilled version or a baked one. Both are great. Baked fish has a nicely crispy skin, is slightly sprinkled with salt, spices, or herbs. Usually, it either directly baked in the oven, or in an aluminum foil, that allows the fish to keep its juices and bake in them. Fish is served with a small piece of lemon and a sauce. Although the sauce may vary from place to place, usually the most popular and the favorite one is a garlic sauce. Another one that is just one place behind in the hierarchy and on the customers’ preferences list is mayonnaise and a semi-spicy paprika and mayo sauce.
For side dishes, choose a local, freshly baked bread or crispy baked potatoes. Add to that a small fresh vegetable salad with white cabbage or iceberg lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Although pickles are very popular in Romania, skip them and be concentrated on only fresh ingredients.
6. Grilled fish filet
Another option for all fish-lovers is a fish filet. Deprived of head, fins and bones, filets are easy to be eaten and you avoid struggling with all inedible fish parts. No head with eyes, intestines, and sharp bone parts. If you are lucky, the skin might be removed too. That is an easy option and very often the only one. While trout is usually served as a whole fish, salmon and other bigger fishes come in a filet form. Depending on the fish, the size and the shape may vary. Filets are either grille, baked or fried. The best one is the grilled one. Fish is slightly sprinkled with flour or without anything and is grilled on a flat pan. It is not in breadcrumbs and with no extra crust of eggs. Thanks to that, you can fully taste the aroma of the fish. Filets are slightly salted, however usually no extra spices or herbs are used. It is served with lemon and some green garnish. Choose to that grilled vegetables with eggplant, tomatoes and mushrooms and ask for a slice of bread or baked potatoes.
7. Romanian Cheeseburger - Caș burger
Don’t also miss a regular burger but in a Romanian version. Pick Caș burger that includes a local type of a cheese. Caș is a semi-soft, white, fresh cheese. It is very popular in Romania and made from a sheep or cow milk.
Burgers with Caș are slightly different from regular ones, as they have special sauces that go perfectly with this specific type of cheese. The cheese is in a thin crust of breadcrumbs, it is well fried from the outside, but is soft and delicate inside. It does not melt as camembert or mozzarella do. It keeps its structure and texture even after frying and heating.
The bun is delicate, with a crispy crust and usually sprinkled with sesame seeds. Inside, apart from the cheese you will find plenty of selected vegetables and pickles. The choice you might have is very wide. Starting from a standard white or red cabbage salad, through fresh, seasonal vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce and ending on pickles, red bean, and corn.
Choose to that your favorite sauces and remember to ask for a mild version in case you want to avoid a hot paprika one.
If you want to know more, read about fast-food in Hungary and burgers in Croatia too! Do not forget also to read about meatless meals in other countries like these in Turkey: TOP 15 Vegetarian and non-meat Turkish foods (Turkish cuisine guide))
Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.
Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.
EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Other food destinations / Europe - european food / Romania - romanian food
