Well into my teens, I thought Transylvania was fictitious, somewhere like Gotham or Hogwarts! Located in central Romania, and roughly 11 times bigger than Cyprus, the Transylvanian Plateau is almost completely surrounded by the Carpathian mountains with several major rivers running through it.

But what Transylvania is most famed for is its castles, which encouraged early travel writers to wax eloquent on Transylvania; and to this day, the ‘Land Beyond the Forest’ (the translation of Transylvania) is often painted as a mysterious, mountainous, mist-shrouded region…

In actuality, it’s fairly down to earth. Yes, legends of the Sanziene (good fairies), the Lelele (bad fairies), and the Strigoi (souls who rise from the grave to feast on the blood of the living) still abound. But daily life couldn’t be more mundane: most of the 6.8 million residents are employed in the iron, steel, chemical and textiles industries, or in the booming IT, electronics and automotive sectors.

whats eaten2The food is also pretty ordinary – predominantly soupy and stewy, in fact! The most common soups include Supă de găluște (a clear chicken broth loaded with dumplings) and Supă de tăiței (fine noodle soup). But there’s also a fine range of thicker, sourer concoctions, such as Ciorbă de lobodă (sour spinach soup), Ciorbă ardelenească de cartofi (thick potato soup) and Ciorba de Perișoare (beef meatball soup). And a particular favourite in winter, cumin soup is a Transylvanian favourite – made with oodles of heart-warming cumin seeds, sweet paprika, and a great big onion, and served piping hot with croutons.

In terms of stews, we’ve got the ever-popular Ciolan afumat cu fasole (a hearty mix of smoked pork leg and beans that’s a favourite with long-distance truckers), and Tocăniță ardelenească de cartofi, a creation that relies heavily on smoked sausage, potatoes, and paprika.

Afters is often Henklesh (a simple unleavened pie covered in sugar and raisins) or Găluști cu prune (sweet dumplings with plums), which owes much to the German Knödel. And to drink, it’s Pálinka – a fairly lethal spirit that, in Transylvania, is served as a shot with every course…