Pass The Plate: Carolina Gelen’s Romanian Roots Reimagined
In 2021 food-influencer Carolina Gelen won a Jamie Oliver cooking contest — growing up in Transylvania, she had learned English from watching Oliver’s television shows. This honor prompted her immediate immigration to the United States (Salt Lake City!), and pursue her Romanian roots through recipe writing and cooking videos. Since then, she’s garnered millions of followers through her creative, comforting culinary concepts found on Food Network, NYT Cooking, Food52, and her own online presence, via viral Beans Alla Vodka, to a homey, heritage Chicken Paprikash.
Last week, Gelen’s first cookbook, Pass the Plate, landed on door steps, with recipes for many mushrooms lasagna and upside-down pineapple coconut cake – many of which are modernized versions of dishes her family has been cooking for years. She’s added caramelized lemon gremolata to a classic chicken schnitzel, and arayes-inspired tacos – using one ingredient rather than the traditional one, embellishing on a new amalgamated approach. One recipe that’s missing from the book is her spicy, biting grated horseradish, which she grew up eating with beetroot salads and and a condiment for meats and fish; it’s the side that first got her hooked on vinegar. Her mother never followed a recipe for it—she just eyeballed it from taste memory: freshly grated horseradish, a substantial amount of salt, and enough white distilled vinegar to balance out the pungency.
While you won’t find that in Pass the Plate (it’s easy, we promise), you will find that Gelen’s pantry is stocked with vinegars, including apple cider, balsamic, rice and white distilled. Often, Gelen doesn’t settle for what’s right out of the bottle, she infuses vinegar with herbs, for finishing dishes like Melt-in-Your-Mouth Leeks with Dijon Vinaigrette and Hearty White Bean Soup with Crispy Fennel. She also uses them to make nuanced and sometimes involved vinaigrettes — her current favorites are cherry fennel rice vinegar and yuzu coriander apple cider vinegar. Gelen adds dashes of rice vinegar to brighten up beans, stews, or enhance herby condiments, like her mint celery topping that she puts on Whipped Feta Dip and even finds that a couple tablespoons of vinegar in with the cream for Potato-Leek Gratin keep its from being too rich.
Here are a few of the beautifully bright recipes Gelen brings to the table.
Smoky and Sweet Marinated Peppers
Gelen considers these sweet, charred peppers that she marinates in either rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar something in between a side dish and a condiment. The peppers will keep in the fridge for some time (but you’ll eat them up in no time!). And then, whenever she wants, she can serve them alongside roasted chicken and potatoes, or toss them in salads for an added pop of acidity. They’re even great on top of toast or a fried egg!
Spicy Charred Red Pepper Yogurt Dip
Spoon these grilled peppers mixed with olive oil, rice vinegar, cilantro, garlic and Aleppo pepper over cool, creamy yogurt for a flavorful dip for chips, crackers, crusty bread, or to spoon over eggs in the morning..
Sweet and Tart Root Vegetable Salad
This striking, crunchy salad of grated carrots, parsnips, flame red beets is dressed with tangy orange juice (and zest) and apple cider vinegar for a vibrant, colorful bite.
Honey Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower
Here, Gelen fortifies balsamic vinegar with honey and Dijon mustard for a bronze vinaigrette-like glaze that caramelizes as it cooks in the oven. Gelen adds the florets to rice bowls and sandwichesI’d even serve it as a standalone snack— just like sweet- and-sour shellacked roasted nuts.
Desserts
Used as a leavener for cakes, vinegar reacts with recipes that involve baking soda, such as Gelen’s Upside-Down Pineapple Coconut Cake and Spiced Zucchini Cake, resulting in a soft, subtle crumb. Even her Brown Butter Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies get a dose of vinegar, whisking in espresso powder into distilled white vinegar to bring out the roasty, toasty, coffee notes.
*Photos by Nico Schinco