"A joy and an education. Irina Georgescu has disentangled the strands
woven into Romanian cooking and identity and she has done so
deliciously, through glorious cakes, pies, strudels and doughnuts. Cook,
eat, learn." - Diana Henry
"I am such a huge admirer of Irina Georgescu in general, and of this
extraordinarily impressive and important book in particular. A
must-have, not just for enquiring bakers but, crucially, for all those
interested in the context and evolution of culinary culture." - Nigella
Lawson
Tava is a meticulously researched baking book celebrating centuries of
diversity and overlapping cultures that form today's cuisine in Romania.
The author's aim is to also share the story of those dishes that have
come to represent the identity of different cultural communities across
the country. Tava means tray in Romanian, a metaphor for how a whole
culinary landscape is presented to the reader.
You will find Armenian pakhlava, Saxon plum pies, Swabian poppyseed
crescents, Jewish fritters, and Hungarian langoși alongside plăcinte
pies, alivenci corn cake, strudels and fruit dumplings. Rice or pearl
barley puddings, donuts and gingerbread biscuits come with their own
story, while chocolate mousses, meringues in custard sauce and coffee
ice cream introduce you to the glamour of famous Romanian and Eastern
European pastry shops.
The book is written with integrity and respect towards this rich
heritage connecting the past with a present which can be encountered by
the reader when travelling in Romania. The recipes are easy to follow,
beautifully photographed, and tempt the reader to embrace the unfamiliar
as much as the familiar, while enjoying their comforting and homely
feel.
