Susie’s best tip for cooking with Romanian meats is quite simple: “Know that you have an unbelievable product, and you don’t have to drown it in sauce. The flavor is just so good naturally.”
Here are some of Susie’s favorite recipe ideas with Romanian meats:
- Aged salami on charquetierie boards
- Duck sauce salami (the sugar makes it crackle!)
- Romanian hot dogs in split pea soup
- Grilled Salami and Fig salad (recipe below)
Behind all of her recipes is the sincere desire to make people happy through food. “I enjoy making people happy and love to stay organized and busy.” During the pandemic, Susie has been using her behind-the-scenes staff (her kids home during quarantine) to run her zoom to continue bringing recipes and joy to people all over the world.
Grilled Salami and Fig Salad Recipe
Meat Yield: 6-8 servings
2 ounces pine nuts
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (11-ounce) jar fig preserves
1 tablespoon nondairy cream cheese, such as Tofutti brand
1 pound sliced beef salami (4-inch diameter slices)
4 ounces baby arugula leaves
additional pine nuts, for garnish
1. Place the 2-ounces of pine nuts into a large empty skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Toast until fragrant, shaking the pan, for about 2 minutes. Transfer the pine nuts to a quart-size container. Add the vinegar and olive oil. Using an immersion blender purée the mixture into a dressing. This can also be done in a food processor fitted with metal “S” blade.
2. Place the fig preserves into a second quart-sized container. Add the nondairy cream cheese. Using an immersion blender, process until the figs are evenly chopped. If you don’t have an immersion blender, finely chop the fig preserves and whisk them into the cream cheese.
3. Preheat the skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Place the salami slices on your work surface. Spread the fig mixture evenly on one side of each salami slice, about 1⁄2 teaspoon per slice. Fold each slice of salami in half twice to form a fan. Place the salami fans into the hot pan. Cook, using tongs to turn each fan once, 1-2 minutes per side or until the salami is grilled. Set aside. Do in batches and rinse out pan between batches if necessary.
4. Place the arugula into a large bowl or platter. Toss with the dressing. Set the salami fans into the lettuce. Garnish with pine nuts.