Drob de Miel

Medium·40 min

A festive Romanian lamb terrine: minced lamb offal and spring greens bound with egg, hiding whole boiled eggs at its heart, wrapped in caul fat and baked into a loaf sliced cold or warm.

Egg

Drob is the soul of the Romanian Easter table, prepared once a year as part of the ritual use of the whole sacrificial lamb that echoes Christ as the lamb of God. Born in peasant households unwilling to waste any part of the animal, it turns liver, heart, kidneys and the first tender greens of spring into a celebratory loaf, with every village and grandmother guarding a slightly different recipe.

A dense, savoury slice that tastes deeply of liver and herbs, the bitterness of offal tamed by sweet onion and a forest of parsley and dill. The ring of golden yolk in each slice is creamy against the firm, earthy meat.

Pre-boiling the offal sets its texture and mellows its strong flavour before baking, while the soaked bread and raw egg act as a binder that holds the loaf together as it firms in the oven. The caul fat bastes the terrine from outside, keeping it moist.

Variations

Pork or chicken offal for a milder loaf, puff-pastry casing instead of caul fat, added grated carrot, baked free-form rather than in a tin

On the Palate

Where Drob de Miel sits in the Romanian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

800 gLamb

1 pieceCaul Fat

6 (3 raw, 3 boiled)Egg

How it's made

8 steps · 40 min

1
25 min
Boil the lamb liver, heart and kidneys with a bay leaf until just cooked, then drain and cool.
Watch out
Boil the offal only until just cooked, not a minute more — this sets the texture and mellows it, but overboiling turns it tough and grainy.
2
8 min
Saute finely chopped onions and spring onions in oil until soft and golden.
3
10 min
Mince or finely chop the cooled offal and combine with the onions, chopped parsley and dill.
4
5 min
Soak a slice of bread in milk, squeeze, and mix into the meat with raw eggs, salt and pepper.
Watch out
The soaked-bread-and-egg mixture is your binder — work it in evenly so the loaf holds together and does not crumble when sliced.
5
5 min
Line a loaf tin with caul fat (or puff pastry), letting the edges overhang.
6
6 min
Spoon in half the mixture, nestle peeled hard-boiled eggs in a row, then cover with the rest.
7
60 min
Fold the caul fat over the top and bake at 180C until firm and browned, about 50-60 minutes.
Watch out
Bake until firm and browned, about 50-60 minutes — the caul fat bastes it from outside, so it should feel set but still moist.
8
15 min
Rest fully, then unmould and slice to reveal the eggs in cross-section.