Romanian Food Festival

Lime cake

Romanian Food Festival, 2017.
Potamac, Maryland.

We recently attended the Romanian Food Festival in Potomac, Maryland.

It was my first exposure to Romanian food. It was very simple, closest to home-cooked food. We tried their vegetables and pork stuffed cabbage rolls, polenta (boiled corn meal), grilled chicken and home-made stuffed pork sausages.

A bit bland for my palate but edible for sure. My favorite were the desserts. We tried a moist lime cake stuffed with cream and baklava. Unlike most desserts, these flavors were very subtle.

Qiche with caramelized onions and feta (topped with smoked salmon)

Basic Ingredients (2-4 servings)
4 eggs
Ready-made Pie crust
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Feta/Goat cheese
1 cup milk
Finely chopped 1/2 cup spinach
1 1/2 red onions
1 small tomato
1 teaspoon salt (alter to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Rosemary

Step 1: Break the eggs into a large bowl and add  the cheeses and milk. Add spinach, diced tomato, salt, pepper, rosemary. Mix them well and set aside.

Step 2: After allowing the frozen pie-crust to thaw for an hour and a half, set it in a baking dish, greased with butter.

Step 3: In a separate pan, caramelize the onions.

Step 4: Allow them to cool down and add it to the prepared mixture. 

Step 4: Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F ( C) and bake it for 40-45 minutes. Place smoked salmon on top. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Russian-Uzbek Fare

Rus-Uz

Steamed dumplings

1000 N. Randolph Street

Arlington, Virginia 22202

Rus-Uz, in Ballston, Arlington, offers Russian and Uzbek cuisine. Having been here several times, I have found the quality of the food to be consistent and the prices are fare. 

During our most recent visit, we picked the pirohski (potato and mushroom pastry) and Herring under fur coat (a layered fish salad) for appetizers. For the main course, we had a Uzbek delicacy called manti (large steamed dumplings with lamb and onions, served with a sauce on top), and russian roasted salmon with pomegranate sauce. Personally, I found the food a bit bland for my taste. But I could see the comfort food appeal in all their dishes - simple and well-executed. For meat-lovers, there were several beef and pork dishes on the menu. 

If you are in mood for some simple and hot food on a cold day, this is a great ethnic dining option in Arlington. Reasonably priced. Recommended.