The central characteristic of the Romanian cuisine is its great variety. It is a cuisine influenced by repeated waves of different cultures: the ancient Greeks, with whom Romanians traded; the Romans, who gave the country its name; the Saxons, who settled in southern Transylvania; the Turks, who for centuries dominated Romania; as well as Slavic and Magyar neighbors. All of these influences gradually blended into the varied and delicious Romanian culinary tradition. The main ingredients used by Romanian chefs are meats such as pork, beef and lamb, fish, vegetables, dairy products and fruit. A traditional Romanian meal may include:

Appetizer Spread of Salami, Sausages and Cheeses - Mezeluri Romanians love to entertain and almost any celebration would include a spread of salami, sausages and cheeses, known as mezeluri. Many of the sausages are from Hungary, Germany and Poland, but Romanian salam de Sibiu is popular. And many of the cheeses include feta and kashkaval from Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria.

Romanian Salata de Boeuf Recipe - Potato/Meat Salad

Salata de Boeuf, literally "beef salad" from the French, can actually be made with beef, chicken, hot dogs or any other protein one desires. The recipes abound and vary from family to family and region to region. This is known as Olivier Salad in Russia.

Sweet Pepper Salad Recipe - Salata de Ardei or Salata de Piper

Romanian sweet pepper salad or salata de ardei or salata de piper starts with Romanian peppers that begin ivory-colored, turn orange, then mature to red. The peppers are often harvested when ivory and fried. Red bell peppers can be used here and, unlike other Romanian pepper salads, they are not roasted or peeled in this recipe, and garlic or onion are not used. Peppers are a traditional mezeluri (appetizer) dish.

Sour Meatball Soup Recipe - Ciorbă de Perisoare Ciorbă 

Is a distinctive type of Romanian soup that is soured with vinegar, sauerkraut juice or another sour agent. Sour meatball soup is among the most traditional of the sour soups, but cabbage ciorbă is also popular, and ciorbă de burtă (tripe soup) is considered the ultimate hangover food.

Polenta - Mamaliga

Mamaliga is a staple side dish in Romania that often replaces bread or other grains and starches. Classic Romanian polenta is served with warm milk or sour cream, and often benefits from shredded telemea, feta or other cheese on top. Sometimes mamaliga is served with a sunnyside-up egg on top. But mamaliga most often is served as a side dish with stews or sarmale (see the Romanian atuffed cabbage recipe below).

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage Recipe - Sarmale

Sarmale or stuffed cabbage are enjoyed year-round in Romania, but especially for holidays like Christmas and Easter. This Romanian stuffed cabbage recipe is made with pork, sauerkraut, cabbage and tomatoes. Here are more Eastern European stuffed cabbage recipes.

Romanian Wee Ones Sausages – Mititei

The story has it a popular mid-19th-century Romanian inn, famous for its sausages, was out of a customer favorite. To save time, the chef formed the unstuffed meat mixture into sausage-shaped cylinders and grilled them over charcoal. The customers delighted in "the wee ones without skin," and so these casingless sausages became known as mititei or "the wee ones."

Romanian Pork Cordon Bleu Recipe - Cordon Bleu Şniţel

Romanian Pork Cordon Bleu Recipe - Cordon Bleu Şniţel Schnitzel or şniţel is a popular main course in restaurants, fast food places, and homes across Romania. It is typical of the Austrian / German schnitzel but it can be made with any type of meat or poultry. This recipe for a type of schnitzel known as pork cordon bleu, or cordon bleu şniţel in Romanian, features pounded pork tenderloin filled with prosciutto or ham and cheese.

Romanian Chicken Kebabs Recipe – Frigarui This recipe for Romanian chicken kebabs or frigarui can be made with seasoned chicken only or a combination of chicken and veggies. Frigarui is also made with pork or beef and sometimes bacon skewered with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms and then grilled. It is a popular Romanian street food.

Romanian Christmas and Easter Bread Recipe – Cozonac Romanian cozonac is a slightly sweet yeast-raised egg bread, similar tohoska, that is traditionally eaten for Easter, Christmas and New Year's. Bulgarians call this bread kozunak. It's considered the Italian panettone of the Romanians. Some cozonac are filled with nuts, lokum (Turkish Delight) or raisins. When the cozonac dough is filled with farmers cheese, it becomes a pasca, similar to a Polish kolacz.

Romanian Crepes Recipe - Clătite

Thin, French-style pancakes are popular throughout Eastern Europe and are known variously as palacinke in Serbia and Croatia, palacsintas in Hungary and nalesniki in Polish, and so on. In Romania, crepes are known as clătite. Depending on the filling, they can be served as an appetizer, meal or dessert. Any crepe recipe will do just fine.

Romanian Savarin Recipe - Savarina

Romanian savarina is virtually identical to French baba au rhum and Polish rum-soaked babka without raisins. This cake is made with a sweet yeast dough which is soaked in a rum syrup overnight after baking and then either filled with pastry cream or topped with whipped heavy cream and garnished with fresh fruit or, at the very least, a maraschino cherry.