This Romanian drob recipe is always present at the Easter dinner table. In Romania. Lamb is usually only consumed during Easter time, when people buy a whole lamb and cook it in different ways. Growing up, Easter was always a celebration when the entire family would gather around the table, children, parents and grandparents. It was always a nice way to celebrate and enjoy the delicious dishes made from lamb. My family would buy half a lamb, which was enough for all of us. The head and bones would go into the soup, which I would eat by myself the day before – as nobody else in my family liked it. The legs would be slow roasted with garlic, whilst the organs would be used to make this recipe of drob. In Romania, no part of the animal is wasted, and this is why we have quite a few recipes using offal. Firstly, during the communist times meat was hard to come by so everything was used, secondly, it would be disrespectful to the animal to sacrifice it but throw away some of its parts.
What is the Romanian Drob?
The Lamb drob is a type of meatloaf with boiled eggs in the middle, made from liver, heart, kidneys, and a lot of spring greens. It does have an acquired taste but, if you enjoy pate as a spread, chances are you will like drob as well.
Drob is part of the Easter appetisers spread, which has always been my favourite part of this holiday meal. Alongside it we also serve Boeuf salad, mushroom salad, aubergine salad, fresh telemea cheese, tomatoes, cold cuts, red eggs, radishes, and spring onions.
Ingredients for Easter Lamb Drob
You don’t need many ingredients to make this delicious lamb drob recipe: lamb liver and heart, which is available at supermarkets and at butchers, spring onions, spring garlic, parsley, dill, eggs and bread. The seasoning is very simple: salt, pepper, and nutmeg – if you like it.
Traditionally, there is an extra ingredient that you need, but unless you buy the whole lamb, it is very unlikely to find it sold separately. This is the fatty membrane that covers the lambs organs and keeps the drob together. Though I have never used it, I have always managed to get a beautiful drob that stays together and holds its shape.
How to Make This Romanian Drob Recipe
Firstly, separate the whites from the greens of the spring onions. Chop them and fry the white parts for a couple of minutes, then add the chopped garlic and the liver cut in larger chunks. If you are using spring garlic, proceed the same as with the spring onion: separate the whites from the greens and add it at the same time. If you are using garlic cloves, add it together with the liver. Fry for about 6-7 minutes, then add the green parts and let it cook for one more minute. You may notice that the liver is not fully cooked, which is ok, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
Turn the heat off and let everything cool down. Meanwhile, boil two eggs for 10 minutes and chop the greens finely. After an hour or so, take the liver out and chop it into very small pieces, before returning it to the pan. Add the chopped greens, season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix well with one raw egg.
Prepare the tray for the drob, which should be the same as for loafs. Butter it or put baking paper inside, and then add half of the drob composition inside. Arrange the boiled eggs in the middle, and cover with the rest of the composition. Add a few thin slices of butter on the top, then bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, at 180 degrees.
Once the drob is ready, let it cool down in its tray and then move in the fridge and let it cool down overnight. Only take it out of the tray the next morning, delicately, so it doesn’t break apart.
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- I am aware that spring garlic is very hard to find in the markets outside Romania. Unless you grow it yourself, it will be very hard to find it for this recipe. However, you can replace it with normal garlic.
- The original recipe for the Romanian drob asks for different offal such as liver, heart, kidneys, etc. This is because in Romania you buy either half a lamb or an entire lamb, never just the pieces you need. And this recipe is how the organs of the animal are used. However, again, I know that abroad the most common offal you can find is liver – and it’s totally ok to use only liver. The taste won’t change significantly and you will still end up with a delicious drob.
- Don’t add salt in the pan, when you fry the liver. Salt makes the liver harden whilst frying, and instead of a delicate texture you will end up with the one of a shoe sole.
Romanian Drob Recipe
Ingredients
- 800 grams lamb liver, hearts
- 2 bunch spring onions
- 1 bunch spring green garlic or 5 cloves of normal garlic
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 bunch parsley
- 2 boiled eggs
- 2 raw eggs
- nutmeg
- butter
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Divide the whites from the greens on the spring onions and garlic.
- Fry the white part of the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes. If you are using cloves of garlic, save it for a bit later.
- If you are adding heart, put it in the pan now and fry for 8 minutes.
- Cut the liver in chunk sizes.
- Add the liver and the chopped cloves of garlic.
- Let it all cook together for 6-7 minutes on a medium heat, then add the green parts of the onion and garlic.
- Cook for one more minute, then turn the heat off and let it cool down completely.
- Meanwhile, boil two eggs for 10 minutes.
- Chop the dill and the parsley finely.
- After the composition is cold, take the liver out and chop it very small. You can also use a chopper.
- Mix the greens, the raw eggs, the salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Butter the loaf tin or cover it with baking paper.
- Add half of the composition, then place the hard boiled eggs in the middle.
- Cover with the other half of the composition, and press well.
- Top the drob with thin slices of butter and bake it in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Check if the drob is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle of it. If it comes out clean, it is ready.
- Take the drob out of the oven and let it cool down in the tin.
- Place the tin in the fridge and let it cool down overnight.
- Serve on the Easter table, on a platter, on a bed of salad.
FAQ:
How Can You Store the Romanian Drob?
You can store the lamb drob in the fridge, covered in foil so it doesn’t dry out.
How Long Does the Romanian Drob Last?
The Romanian drob lasts for 2-3 days in the fridge, when stored correctly.
For more traditional Easter recipes check out the following:
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