Week 39 Romania and Sri Lanka

We love sausages, and whenever I see a recipe linked with sausages I tend to steer towards it. These more so, as they had no skins which can be tricky if you do not have a nifty little machine that helps you out. The Romanian version did not let us down, they were easy to make as well as being very tasty. I did a sort of veg stew to go with them, based on ratatouille ingredients as well as a baked potato, delicious. We also liked the name of them, and I love a good sounding name of a dish!

Sri Lanka was a little different, we had a curry; which sounded like a good idea but exploring to find an 'authentic' recipe opened up the usual issue of there being so many slightly different versions of a theme. So, I decided - on this occasion - to join in and create my own version. The boys and I liked it, so country ticked off as done.  I used cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, coconut milk, dill and veg and served with plenty of rice. There are better recipes out there, but we liked this one.

The story has it a popular mid-19th-century Romanian Inn, famous for its sausages, was out of a customer favorite. To save time, the chef formed the unstuffed meat mixture into sausage-shaped cylinders and grilled them over charcoal. The customers delighted in "the wee ones without skin," and so these case less sausages became known as mititei or "the wee ones."

Mititei also can be made with lamb or pork or a combination, and formed into patties or meatballs and grilled, broiled, pan-fried or baked in the oven. Indoor grills work great, too.

Ingredients
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
3 to 9 finely chopped garlic cloves or to taste
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or to taste
1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika or to taste
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to Make It

Place 1 pound ground chuck, 1 pound ground pork, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons water, 3 to 9 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons thyme, 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika, 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, 1 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly, wetting your hands frequently to keep the meat moist. Cover bowl and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Using slightly dampened hands, divide mixture into 18 equal portions and form into oval sausages about 3 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick.
Grill, broil or pan-fry 7 minutes per side or bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
Serve with tomato and green onion salad, sour cream sprinkled with paprika, baked potato or french fries, or rice.
"Mititei" make great appetizers and are wonderful cold the next day in a sandwich.
Source: https://www.thespruce.com/romanian-sausages-recipe-mititei-1137277