Saptamana 11 / Week 11

Saptamana aceasta incep un nou capitol din “Cartea regala de bucate”, capitol dedicat ASR Principele Mostenitor Alexandru al Serbiei & Iugoslaviei. Este un pretext bun pentru a aborda legatura stransa dintre monarhiile balcanice, care, pe langa o istorie comuna, marcata de lupta pentru independenta, au si stranse legaturi de familie. Atat in cazul Romaniei, cat si in cazul Serbiei & Iugoslaviei, Bulgariei sau Greciei, institutia monarhica a fost elementul esential care a stat la baza crearii statului national modern, unitar si independent. Toate case regale balcanice, impartasesc in acelasi timp si un destin oarecum tragic, marcat de exil.







             © HRH CP Alexander II

            regina Maria a Iugoslaviei



ALR Principele Mostenitor Alexandru al Serbiei & Iugoslaviei si Principesa Mostenitoare Margareta a Romaniei ii au ca stramosi comuni pe regele Ferdinand si regina Maria. Cea de-a doua fiica a suveranilor romani, botezata, la fel ca si mama sa, Maria, dar cunoscuta in familie ca Mignon sau Marioara, s-a casatorit in anul 1922 cu regele Alexandru I al Iugoslaviei (dinastia Karadjordje).

Regele si regina Iugoslaviei au avut 3 fii, din care cel mai mare, Petru, avea sa devina regele Petru al II-lea in 1934, la frageda varsta de 11 ani, in urma asasinarii tatalui sau la Marsilia – destin asemanator cu cel al verisorului sau primar, Mihai, care devenea rege al Romaniei la varsta de 6 ani, in 1927.

ASR Principele Mostenitor Alexandru este unicul fiu al regelui Petru al II-lea si a devenit seful casei regale a Serbiei & Iugoslaviei in 1970. La fel ca si principesa Margareta a Romaniei, principele Alexandru nu s-a nascut in tara a carei nume avea sa-l poarte. Aflati in exil la Londra, Petru al II-lea si regina Alexandra au fost ajutati insa de autoritatile britanice, care au cedat suveranitatea asupra camerei de hotel in care Principele Mostenitor s-a nascut, astfel ca, formal, nasterea a avut loc pe tritoriu iugoslav!

© HRH CP Alexander II


Belgrad: botezul viitorului rege Petru al II-lea al Iugoslaviei


(stanga la dreapta: regele Alexandru I al Iugoslaviei, regina Elisabeta a Greciei (principesa a Romaniei), regina Maria a Romaniei, tinand in brate pe viitorul Petru al II-lea, ducele si ducesa de York (viitorul rege George al VI-lea si regina Elizabeth ai Marii Britanii)

Caderea regimului Milosevic a facut posibila intoarcerea definitiva a familiei Karadjordje la Belgrad, iar in prezent activitatea acesteia se concentreaza pe activitati caritabile si de sustinere a societatii civile.

  

Snitel Karadjordje

Apropierea geografica si asemanarile culturale fac ca retetele urmatoare sa fie oarecum mai putin exotice pentru noi! Totusi, fiecare dintre ele are cel putin cate un element care sa le scoata in evidenta.

Pentru aceasta reteta de snitel umplut, am luat o bucata de muschi file de porc, pe care am taiat-o in felii cu grosimea de aproximativ ½ centimetru. Daca nu va pricepeti la transat sau pur si simplu nu aveti un cutit bun, va recomand sa cumparati carnea gata feliata.

Am batut feliile de carne cu ciocanul de lemn, iar apoi le-am condimentat cu sare, boia si piper negru. Dupa ce am lasat putin carnea sa absoarba condimentele, am pus cu o lingurita niste branza Philadelphia in centrul fiecarei felii de carne si le-am rulat la fel cum se ruleaza sarmalele, astfel incat branza sa nu scape in momentul prajirii.

Am pregatit 3 vase separate cu faina alba, un ou batut si pesmet. Am “tavalit” fiecare rulou de carne si branza, pe rand, in faina, ou, pesmet, iar apoi, din nou, doar in oul batut si pesmet, cu grija, astfel incat sa fie acoperite uniform, dar sa nu se desprinda.

Am incalzit ulei intr-un vas de inox – ideal, cantitatea trebuie sa fie suficienta pentru a acoperi in intregime carnea – si am introdus snitelele, la foc mediu, pentru aproximativ 10 minute, pana cand pesmetul devine auriu. Este important ca uleiul sa fie incalzit in momentul in care puneti snitelele la prajit, insa aveti grija sa nu fie prea incins! Riscul este sa ardeti pesmetul, in timp ce muschiul file ar putea ramane crud la mijloc. Temperatura medie asigura patrunderea uniforma a carnii.

Snitelul Karadjordje merge foarte bine cu cartofi prajiti, dar, in ceea ce priveste garnitura, puteti fi si mai inventivi…

Desi delicioasa cand este calda, sunt convins ca aceasta reteta poate fi de succes si rece, taiata ca o rulada, mai ales daca se inlocuieste carnea de porc cu cea de pui.

добар апетит !

Reteta detaliata se afla in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti 2010, pag. 113.

***

This week I started a new chapter from the “Royal Cookbook”, dedicated to HRH Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia & Yugoslavia. It’s a good pretext to approach the strong connection between the Balkanic monarchies, which, apart from having a common history, marked by the fight for independence, they also have strong family bonds. In the case of Romania as well as that of Serbia & Yugoslavia, Bulgaria or Greece, the monarchic institution was the key-element in creating the modern national, unified and independent state. All the Balkanic royal families share, at the same time a rather tragic destiny, marked by exile.

Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia & Yugoslavia and Crown Princess Margarita of Romania are both descendants of king Ferdinand and queen Marie of Romania. The Romanian king and queen’s second daughter, named as her mother, Marie, but known in the family as Mignon or Marioara, married king Alexander of Yugoslavia (the Karadjordje dynasty), in 1922.

The king and the queen of Yugoslavia had three sons: the eldest, Peter, was to become king Peter II in 1934, at the young age of 11, after his father was killed in Marseille. A similar destiny was shared by his first cousin, Michael, who became king of Romania age 6, in 1927.

HRH Crown Prince Alexander is king Peter II's only son and became head of the royal family of Serbia & Yugoslavia in 1970. Just as Crown Princess Margarita of Romania, Crown Prince Alexander wasn’t born in the country whose name he bears. Being exiled in London, Peter II and his queen, Alexandra, were helped by the British authorities, who ceded the sovereignty over the hotel room where the Crown Prince was born, so that, formally, the birth took place on Yugoslavian territory !

The fall of the Milosevic régime made the return of the Karadjordje family to Belgrade possible.  At present, the royal family’s activity is focused on charity.

 

Schnitzel Karadjeordje

The geographic proximity and the cultural similarities make the following recipes a bit less exotic for us! Still, each of them have something special.

For this particular recipe of stuffed schnitzel, I used a piece of pork fillet that I sliced in pieces of about ½ cm thick. If you are not very good at meat carving or you just don’t have a good knife in the house, I suggest you buy the meat already sliced.

I tenderized the fillet with a meat mallet, and then I seasoned it with salt, paprika and freshly ground black pepper. After I let the pork soak in the spices, I put a spoonful of cream cheese in the center of each piece of meat and I rolled them up tight, making sure that the cream cheese does not “escape”.

I prepared three separate bowls with white flour, beaten egg and bread crumbs. I took every rolled-up piece of pork  and cheese and dipped them first into the bowl of white flour, then egg, bread crumbs and then again only in egg and crumbs, carefully so as to cover every piece evenly.

I heated enough oil in a pan to completely cover the meat and then I dropped the schnitzels in, at medium heat. I deep-fried them for about ten minutes, until the bread crumbs turned golden. It is important that the oil be really warm from the get go, but be very careful that you do not burn the crust, while the middle remains raw. A medium temperature insures that the schnitzel is cooked all the way through.

The Karadjordje schnitzel goes very well with fries but you can be inventive as far as the garnish is concerned…

Although it is delicious when served warm, I’m sure this recipe can be a success even when cold and sliced like a roulade, especially if the pork is replaced with chicken.

добар апетит !

The detailed recipe can be found in “Cartea regala de bucate”, Ed. Curtea Veche, Bucuresti, 2010, pag. 113.