This is great, I am going to try making pasca for the first time this Easter! One of the things I miss most about Romania is the food preparation ahead of Easter, baking cozonaci and making drob on Holy Thursday and dying eggs and roasting lamb on the Saturday then going to church ‘sa luam lumina’ at midnight.
I’m very happy you decided to share your experience and recipes as it has given me the confidence to try out recipes that I normally would have thought too complicated.
Hi Ms Georgescu! This is a stunning bread/cake with such a beautiful tradition. Absolutely divine! Would you please help me pronounce its name correctly? I'd like to make this for my family's Easter dinner and not come off sounding like a complete fool. Thank you! ~Janet
I live with your three books and they help me get any “back home craving” fixed! Noticed that this dough recipe has more milk vs butter than the version in Carpathia. Any pros and cons to each? I did notice that the Pască dough does get a little hard a day later but fresh it’s really good, almost cozonac-ish. But again I make the 150 g of butter version.
The recipes are different, which is good for those who already have Carpathia, because they can try a new version. Almost every family has its own favourite Pasca recipe, every Pasca a little different.
Danube is exquisite- I read many culinary blogs and there is a lot of repetition or small variations on some themes (understandably) but in Danube I found many absolutely new recipes and ingredient pairings and even techniques. And context for a part of Europe I don’t know nearly enough of. Thank you
Yum! I've been trying to perfect a brioche/focaccia hybrid known in Sicily as sfincione!
I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
Beautiful post, Irena! Are you familiar with “farmer cheese” in the US? I believe it has Eastern European roots and is often used in Jewish baked goods. It has a drier texture than ricotta cheese and is sold in blocks. I’d love to know if you think it would be a good substitute for ricotta, if you’re familiar with it. Happy Easter and thank you.
Thank you. Yes, it will work. That's the curd cheese I mention in the recipe. It's called brânză de vaci in Romanian, but it's not easy to find. Twarog is the equivalent in Polish. Happy Easter.
Such a lovely post, Irina. I really enjoyed reading about the Easter vigil and the traditions around Pască. The connection between Simnel cake and Jemna was new to me – so interesting. I’ll be trying your recipe this weekend.
My husband is Romanian so I now consider a Romanian Pasca an Easter staple - and I have used your wonderful recipe several times already to recreate this delicious bake whenever we were unable to travel back to Romania for Easter!
Ce descoperire pe Substack! Am plecat la 8 ani din România (acum am 64) și nu am mai auzit sau văzut numele de aceste bunătăți de atunci! Vă doresc un Paște sfânt și poftă bună!
This is great, I am going to try making pasca for the first time this Easter! One of the things I miss most about Romania is the food preparation ahead of Easter, baking cozonaci and making drob on Holy Thursday and dying eggs and roasting lamb on the Saturday then going to church ‘sa luam lumina’ at midnight.
Paste fericit!
Hello, Theodora. Our Easter traditions inspired me to write books about Romanian cuisine. That is the reason that ignited everything.
I’m very happy you decided to share your experience and recipes as it has given me the confidence to try out recipes that I normally would have thought too complicated.
Hi Ms Georgescu! This is a stunning bread/cake with such a beautiful tradition. Absolutely divine! Would you please help me pronounce its name correctly? I'd like to make this for my family's Easter dinner and not come off sounding like a complete fool. Thank you! ~Janet
Sure, Pas-ka.
I live with your three books and they help me get any “back home craving” fixed! Noticed that this dough recipe has more milk vs butter than the version in Carpathia. Any pros and cons to each? I did notice that the Pască dough does get a little hard a day later but fresh it’s really good, almost cozonac-ish. But again I make the 150 g of butter version.
The recipes are different, which is good for those who already have Carpathia, because they can try a new version. Almost every family has its own favourite Pasca recipe, every Pasca a little different.
Fascinating post and a delicious sounding recipe.
Thank you, Sam. We have a fascinating cuisine :-) Happy Easter.
Danube is exquisite- I read many culinary blogs and there is a lot of repetition or small variations on some themes (understandably) but in Danube I found many absolutely new recipes and ingredient pairings and even techniques. And context for a part of Europe I don’t know nearly enough of. Thank you
Thank you very much for your kind words, Gabriella. Happy Easter.
Yum! I've been trying to perfect a brioche/focaccia hybrid known in Sicily as sfincione!
I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Your descriptions are so lovely Irina!
Thank you, Paula.
Beautiful post, Irena! Are you familiar with “farmer cheese” in the US? I believe it has Eastern European roots and is often used in Jewish baked goods. It has a drier texture than ricotta cheese and is sold in blocks. I’d love to know if you think it would be a good substitute for ricotta, if you’re familiar with it. Happy Easter and thank you.
Thank you. Yes, it will work. That's the curd cheese I mention in the recipe. It's called brânză de vaci in Romanian, but it's not easy to find. Twarog is the equivalent in Polish. Happy Easter.
Thanks so much, Irina!
Such a lovely post, Irina. I really enjoyed reading about the Easter vigil and the traditions around Pască. The connection between Simnel cake and Jemna was new to me – so interesting. I’ll be trying your recipe this weekend.
Wishing you a peaceful and delicious Easter.
Thank you, have a wonderful Easter.
Beautiful post Irina
Thank you for reading it @Graison Gill
My husband is Romanian so I now consider a Romanian Pasca an Easter staple - and I have used your wonderful recipe several times already to recreate this delicious bake whenever we were unable to travel back to Romania for Easter!
That’s amazing, Sophia. Thank you so much for your lovely note. Paste Fericit.
The braiding has definitely improved since I first made it in 2021 (first photo).
They both look gorgeous. You are such a good baker. Bravo.
Thank you! And paste fericit to you and yours as well!
Ce descoperire pe Substack! Am plecat la 8 ani din România (acum am 64) și nu am mai auzit sau văzut numele de aceste bunătăți de atunci! Vă doresc un Paște sfânt și poftă bună!
Paște Fericit și dumneavoastră.
🙏
Do you have a website where I can download your recipes as a .pdf file? Busy taking screenshots here. Copy/paste not working. Don't know why.
Why do you need to take screenshots? You can open the email or access the recipe by using ‘view in your browser’ option.
I figured it out. Thanks.
I figured it out. Thank you. 😋