CHEF and blogger Paul James writes for our paper.
Having heard about this bistro, tucked away just off the main high street in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, I thought I would pop in for a cup of tea as I was in the area.
Nicole’s Bistro has just been nominated for the Best Restaurant category for the Worcestershire Retail Business Awards 2023 and I can see why.
Spotlessly clean, with a warm and inviting atmosphere and an uncomplicated menu, plus it is licensed to sell alcohol.
But what caught my eye, which I didn’t know before arriving, was the menu – it was filled with some of the most deliciously sounding Romanian dishes.
Romanian cuisine is something I’ve never really considered but looking at the menu I really wished I had more time to sample some of the dishes on offer.
After having a chat with the bistro’s owner Florin, I got to know a little more about the cuisine and culture of his country.
It is mainly influenced by Turkish and a series of European cuisines, in particular from the Balkans or Hungarian dishes, as well as culinary elements stemming from the cuisines of central Europe. Romanian cuisine still holds its own character and traditions.
As we were chatting about Romanian cuisine and ideas for new dishes on the menu I offered to come up and create a dish using commonly used herbs and spices based on some of Romania’s more traditional dishes.
Researching Popular mince meat dishes such as Parjoale, Mititei and Sarmale, I came up with a simple potato dish that would be perfect for lunch.
Served with a couple of salad dishes as accompaniments, I really hope the lovely people at Nicole’s Bistro approve – who knows they may even add it onto their lunchtime menu.
Visit facebook.com/recipesfrommytravels for more of Paul’s recipes and blog.
Romanian baked potato, served with a mushroom and mayonnaise salad and potato salad
Ingredients
For the baked potato
2 Large baking potatoes
250g of steak mince
1tbsp of ground paprika
1/2tbsp of ground cumin
1/2tbsp of ground coriander
1/2tbsp of ground allspice
1/2tbsp of dried dill
2 garlic cloves finely minced
1tbsp of tomato purée
200ml of beef stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Carrots sliced
Chopped fresh parsley
For the two salad dishes
Mushroom and mayonnaise
Handful of finely chopped boiled mushrooms.
A couple of dollops of mayonnaise.
Potato salad
1 potato, peeled, cooked and mashed.
Half an onion diced.
1tbsp of capers
1tbsp of chopped olives
1tsp of mustard powder
1tsp of lemon juice
2 x 1tsp of paprika for each salad dish.
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180c
- Wash and dry the baked potatoes and drizzle with a little oil, sprinkle with sea salt (optional) and wrap each one individually in tinfoil.
- Bake in the oven until cooked.
- In a heated frying pan cook the mince, onions and garlic until the mince is browned, then add all of your spices, stir and continue to cook for another five minutes.
- Pour over the beef stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the mince mixture is reduced and thickened.
- Once your potatoes have cooled, cut them in half and remove the inner flesh and mash in a warm saucepan with a knob of butter and seasoning.
- In each of the potato skins add the mince mixture.
- Then with the mashed potato, pipe or spoon it over the top of the mixture.
- Bake in the oven until golden.
- Serve with the two salad dishes that you have made separately by combining the ingredients given.
