0:00:35 > 0:00:39'Our quest for great food has taken us all over the world on our bikes
0:00:39 > 0:00:42'and one place with surprisingly good nosh is Romania.'
0:00:44 > 0:00:46'We headed north into the mountains
0:00:46 > 0:00:49'and our first taste of Transylvania and its food.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:51'The people were like the cooking -
0:00:51 > 0:00:53'hearty, uncomplicated and,
0:00:53 > 0:00:54'as we were about to find out,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56'incredibly resourceful.'
0:00:56 > 0:01:01That's fabulous, it is fabulous, man.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04We've just pulled into the petrol station for some gas
0:01:04 > 0:01:07and Christie came over to have a look at the bikes, didn't he?
0:01:07 > 0:01:08Yeah.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11With great interest, we've come to have a look at his!
0:01:11 > 0:01:15It started off as a Russian Ural, except he's done a lot of work!
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Look at these straight-through pipes!
0:01:18 > 0:01:21- We said that the rear break was from a car?- From a car.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22- Dacia?- Dacia.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23Excellent, man.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25How long to build, Christie?
0:01:25 > 0:01:28- Two years.- Two years? - Many, many hours.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32- All hand-made?- Many, many.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35That's incredible! It's incredible machine.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40- It's also the bike that you'd want, mate, isn't it?- Yeah, it is, yeah!
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- Yeah? - THEY LAUGH
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Yeah, it is.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45It's fantastic!
0:01:45 > 0:01:46You want...
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Oh, yeah, man, yeah, please!
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Yes. YES!
0:01:54 > 0:01:55Oh, yes!
0:01:55 > 0:01:56- Good luck!- I'll need it!
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Ha-ha! Yes!
0:01:58 > 0:02:00ENGINE ROARS
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Si's always got a penchant for choppers.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09His favourite bike...he had one,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11but then he went skint and had to sell it,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13so this is his dreams come true. Hand-made.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Yes! It's fantastic!
0:02:18 > 0:02:20It's a tank! It's fantastic!
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Nice one, man, it is fantastic, it's fantastic!
0:02:27 > 0:02:29Thanks, thanks a lot.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35'Romania has some of the most beautiful countryside in Europe.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36'But as we headed north,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40'we couldn't help noticing the remains of Ceausescu's devotion
0:02:40 > 0:02:42'to the great god of heavy industry.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44'And yet, around the corner,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47'there are just sights that just knock your socks off.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:51We've finally made it to Transylvania.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56We're here for one reason - Iancu de Hunedoara.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Now, this is his castle, Corvin Castle,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00that was his principal seat.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Now, what he did was he was a Hungarian king-maker,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and who did he make king of Wallachia?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Vlad the Impaler.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Or Dracul.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Vlad the Impaler was the basis of Bram Stoker's book Dracula,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and although there is no evidence he drank human blood,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21he was certainly one of history's most blood-thirsty tyrants.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24But while Vlad pierced these rooms and chambers,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28outside the castle, 500 years later, another tyrant was doing his bit.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32To Ceausescu, the impregnable Corvin Castle represented
0:03:32 > 0:03:34a triumph of individualism over communism,
0:03:34 > 0:03:39so where better to build a giant steelworks then right next door?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42We're cooking Romania's national dish - the sarmale.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44- "So-mali?"- Sarmale.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Some say "so-mali," some say sarmale.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Let's call the whole thing off.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Let's call the whole thing cabbage rolls
0:03:50 > 0:03:53stuffed with pork smoky things, herbs, dill. It's really hot here.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55HE EXHALES
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Oh, I'm hotter than a welder's clog.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Right, step one - the cabbage.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03You've got to get the leaves separated and blanched
0:04:03 > 0:04:07without ripping 'em - you rip 'em, they go, you lose your juice.
0:04:07 > 0:04:08You don't want that.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11A dry sarmale is an unhappy sarmale.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14First off - take your cabbage - you want to cut the core out
0:04:14 > 0:04:18so that the base of the leaves gets detached.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Now, when you blanching, I don't want me leaves all soggy,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24so, you do it that way up, hole-side down.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27In the pot, two minutes, refresh.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Gentle, gentle.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- Hey, Si.- Hello.- You look like that Nilsen bloke in Cricklewood
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- with that bloke's head. - HE LAUGHS
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Look at that -
0:04:38 > 0:04:41no holes, beautiful colour, it's ready for stuffing.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Now, I need the thick stalk going off.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Now, what I'm doing is blanching again to make 'em all soft
0:04:48 > 0:04:49and more malleable.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53There's a top motorcycling tip - me father used to do it -
0:04:53 > 0:04:56in the winter, he used to strap and wrap cabbage leaves
0:04:56 > 0:04:58round his legs and his tummy
0:04:58 > 0:05:00and he looked a bit like the Jolly Green Giant
0:05:00 > 0:05:03but he swore blind that the insulation was better than Gore-Tex.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04SIMON LAUGHS
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Not that Gore-Tex was invented then.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09When you strip the leaves off the cabbage
0:05:09 > 0:05:12you reach a point where you can't get any leaves off whole, anymore.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15So, take the cabbage - shred.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The reason for this becomes apparent in a wee whiley.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24We take a jar, of what we call the discontented German -
0:05:24 > 0:05:25sauerkraut.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26HE LAUGHS
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Mix that with the cabbage.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34I'm draining the juice off the sauerkraut
0:05:34 > 0:05:36cos that forms me cooking juice.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38Look at that.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41Cabbage fantasy.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Right, I've got me sauerkraut-cabbage mix.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46My sauerkraut juice.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50In that, I'm going to put four or five bay leaves to steep
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and peppercorns.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Water that down as the vinegar from the sauerkraut will be too strong.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59This is our cooking liquor.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Next stage - we prepare the filling for the rolls.
0:06:05 > 0:06:11And here we've got pork loin, that we're just gonna cut up and mince.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12You mince, I'll fry.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Story of my life!
0:06:14 > 0:06:15HE LAUGHS
0:06:15 > 0:06:17What I love about Romania...
0:06:19 > 0:06:20..the speck.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22And they call it lardo in Italy.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26It's absolute, solid, fat.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29And they salt it and smoke it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34So it's kind of like cured - it is the most fantastic flavour.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Usual one - about three onions.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38Now the garlic.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43Maybe two to three cloves, just sweat that down with the onions.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46We're in Transylvania, you know, land of Dracula!
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Land of Vlad the Impaler, more like, at least he's the real one.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Vlad Dracul.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56I mean, the truth, it's scarier than the fiction, really, isn't he?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58He got up to some larks, didn't he?
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- He did, mate.- Old Vlad the Impaler.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Oh, that story -
0:07:01 > 0:07:04see when the Turkish dignitaries came to visit him
0:07:04 > 0:07:06and they wouldn't take their hats off
0:07:06 > 0:07:09so he nailed them to their heads. No respect and all.
0:07:09 > 0:07:10I'm gonna add my rice now.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Like a risotto, I want to colour the rice,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17put some water in, this is to part-cook the rice.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18Turn me heat up.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23Wait until the water's all been taken up and that's this part done.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- How's your mince? - Here you are, mate.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Specked-up. Pork loin, minced to an inch of its life.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31- SIMON LAUGHS - Fantastic.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Now we assemble the stuffing.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36So we've got the pork, speck.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Now, bread - dip in water.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Squeeze.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Tear into small bits.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Add to mixture.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Meanwhile...
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I've got the rice, onion and garlic mixture, chuck that in.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Now, with the wizardry of Gandalf - the rest of the concoction.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Thyme.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02They're big on dill here
0:08:02 > 0:08:04and it's really fragrant,
0:08:04 > 0:08:07it goes really well with a smitten of paprika.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09I'm not gonna be boring with the measurements
0:08:09 > 0:08:13cos you can get it on Ceefax or Internet or book, maybe.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Sweet paprika.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18We've got the smokiness coming through with the speck,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21but to butch that up, we're doing a little bit of smoked paprika
0:08:21 > 0:08:26and either some cayenne pepper or a bit of chilli sauce.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27Oh! Season well.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Look at the colours of that - all the colours of a Romanian rug.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Hands in.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Oh, God! Dave, that looks superb.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37Mm, very fragrant.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41That's the stuffing.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Rolling up me rolls.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Don't over-stuff.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Stuffing in the leaf, roll over,
0:08:49 > 0:08:50tuck your ends in.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Oil in me pan.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58And this is great if you're a messy cook
0:08:58 > 0:09:01because you put a layer of the cabbage and the sauerkraut
0:09:01 > 0:09:02in the bottom.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06So it means that if it gets a bit hot, it's not gonna catch.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09We've got this wonderful kind of streaky bacon here,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11ordinary streaky from home. Look at that!
0:09:11 > 0:09:12You put a layer of that.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Now we'll put me layer of sarmale.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18If you can imagine, we've got the vinegary cabbage flavour there,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22but for the juiciness we've got that layer of fatty bacon.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Another layer of sauerkraut and cabbage.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28It's a bit like making compost, isn't it?
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Another layer of this bacon.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Sarmale.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35Cover with sauerkraut.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36And just to protect them.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40It is, it's like tucking up little babies, isn't it? You know.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Put that on.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44That's me cooking juice.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Don't bother chopping this, just take the fronds of dill.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50These will just disintegrate,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53but you'll get the most fantastic sort of herby flavour.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Lid.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Now, leave that for a couple of hours. Go down the pub.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02'It was now 35 degrees centigrade,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05'I wish we could have gone for a swim in the moat.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Smellyvision!
0:10:10 > 0:10:12- Oh!- Oh, man!
0:10:12 > 0:10:13- The dill.- Yes!
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Viva la fresh herbs.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16SIMON LAUGHS
0:10:16 > 0:10:19All we do now, is add a layer of sliced tomatoes.
0:10:20 > 0:10:21That's enough.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23Add a bit of salt.
0:10:28 > 0:10:29Back on the charcoal oven.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34To go with Dave's sarmale
0:10:34 > 0:10:36what the Romanians eat is a thing called mamaliga
0:10:36 > 0:10:39which is fundamentally the same as polenta.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41A litre of water.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43A big knob of butter.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47175g of polenta.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Stick it in.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Right, and stir.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Put some salt, a nice, good bit of salt.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Aye, get those arteries banging.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Oh, aye.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04I'll try not to sweat into it, it's always good, that.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Yeah, I'll bet Delia doesn't sweat.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- No.- No, she's cool, calm, collected in any situation.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Well, that's because she's in an air-conditioned kitchen
0:11:12 > 0:11:14- in the backyard, do you know?- Aye.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19It's important that you make an effort with your polenta, so keep stirring it.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24And then it will just all start to coagulate and go really nice.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28Let's have a look.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30- Wow!- Oh, yes!
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Those tomatoes are just steamed down to nothing.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39With that, we've got lovely ewe's milk cheese.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Oh, look at that!
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It makes you go... Oh! Doesn't it?
0:11:43 > 0:11:44Yeah, excellent.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49A dollop of the omnipresent smentana.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It's a symphony of a post-revolution repressed state
0:11:52 > 0:11:54emerging into the renaissance of democracy.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Look.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Bon appetito.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14'We'd made it to Transylvania and were halfway through our quest.'
0:12:14 > 0:12:16'After boiling like a sarmale in the heat for four hours,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19'all we could think about was a swim.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21'Though, the pool wasn't quite what we expected.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:27BOTH: # And there let us wallow in glorious mud
0:12:27 > 0:12:33# Mud, mud, mud, mud mud, mud, mud, mud
0:12:33 > 0:12:36# Mud, mud, glorious mud. #
0:12:36 > 0:12:40'No road trip is complete without a visit to your local spa.'
0:12:40 > 0:12:44Some local entrepreneur has turned his salt mine into a...
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Uh... A muddy hole, really.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47A muddy mud bath.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49- Dudes, it stinks.- Yeah.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51It really is smelly.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53It's a bit like diving into a vat of poo,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56but the locals ensure us you feel wonderful afterwards.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Now, we've got to stand here while it bakes...you know.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02- Ugh.- Tell you what, mate,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05all those insect bites, all those cuts and grazes,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07they are SO sore with all the salt.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10It's not good, like, is it, really?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14This is the enigmatic part -
0:13:14 > 0:13:16when you're covered, you strike a pose in the sun
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and bake like a Greek statue, god-like.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22Of course, you've got to watch you don't crack.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24SIMON LAUGHS
0:13:25 > 0:13:26What'd I do?
0:13:26 > 0:13:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk