Romanian drob is a traditional Easter dish I grew up with, and we always have it on the holiday table.
Drob is a savory loaf made with liver, herbs, and eggs, baked and served in slices. We eat it for Easter brunch or as a snack during the holidays, usually with bread, mustard, and other simple dishes.
This chicken version is the one I make most often at home in Germany. It's easier to find the ingredients, and everyone loves it, even those who usually don't like liver.
If you are planning a Romanian Easter menu, you can also make Romanian Boeuf Salad, Roast Leg of Lamb, or Pasca.
Ingredients: 6 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 12 slices | Difficulty: Easy
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What is drob?
Traditional drob is made with lamb offal, but this chicken version is very common today. My grandmother used to make both, but more often the chicken one, as it was easier to prepare year-round. I still make it the same way.
Recipe ingredients
Chicken: You will need chicken liver and a smaller amount of chicken breast. If you like them, make sure to try these Easy Chicken Livers or the Peri Peri Chicken Livers.
Garlic: Green garlic is traditional but only available in spring. Wild garlic is a great substitute. If you can't find either, use more spring onions and add a few grated garlic cloves.
Mushrooms: I use canned mushrooms, just like my grandmother did.
Fresh herbs: Use plenty of fresh dill and parsley; frozen herbs don't work too well for this recipe.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make Romanian drob?
Step #1: Cook the chicken livers and the chicken breast in separate pots. Drain them and chop them roughly.
Step #2: Roughly chop the herbs, green onions, and green garlic.
Step #3: Place the green stuff in the food processor and pulse it a few times to chop it a bit more. Add chicken meat, mushrooms, eggs, and seasoning. Process again.
Step #4: Transfer the mixture to the lined loaf pan.
Tip: Process until you get a coarse, slightly pasty mixture. It should hold together, but still have small visible pieces - don't blend it completely smooth.
Step #5: Bake the drob for about 50 to 55 minutes until the center feels set and firm, and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Step #6: Let it cool completely and refrigerate it until ready to serve, preferably overnight.
Tips
Let the Romanian drob cool completely before slicing. For best results, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate it until the next day; it will slice much better after resting overnight.
Alternative baking pan: You can also bake it in an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan (for example, a brownie pan). In this case, it will be ready in about 30-35 minutes.
How to store
Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for 4-5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months and defrost it in the fridge.
How to serve
Serve the drob sliced with white bread, Crispbread, or crackers. Make an Easter platter by adding radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, green onions, feta cheese, eggs or Romanian Deviled Eggs, and so on. It's great as part of an Easter spread with dishes like Romanian Chicken Soup or Romanian Lemon Cake.
Don't forget to serve a good mustard or Homemade Orange Mustard on the side.
You can also pack it for a picnic or use it for sandwiches.
Romanian Easter Drob
Equipment
- Loaf pan 10 inch/ 25 cm, Note 1
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken liver
- 9 oz chicken breast
- 3.5 oz green onions
- 2 oz green garlic Note 2
- 1 can sliced mushrooms about 9 oz/ 250 g when drained
- 3 large eggs
- 1 bunch parsley about 1 oz/ 30 g chopped parsley leaves
- 1 bunch dill about 1 oz/ 30 g chopped dill
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Line the baking dish with parchment paper.
- Boil chicken livers: Place the chicken liver in a medium pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 3-4 minutes and drain well. It should be cooked through but still slightly pink in the middle. 1 lb chicken liver
- Cook the chicken breast in another pot; it should be cooked through.9 oz chicken breast
- Prepare remaining ingredients: In the meantime, roughly chop the onions and garlic. If using regular garlic, you should grate it. Drain the mushrooms and roughly chop the herbs. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl.3.5 oz green onions + 2 oz green garlic + 1 can sliced mushrooms + 1 bunch parsley + 1 bunch dill + 3 large eggs
- Chop: When the chicken liver and breast are cool enough to handle, chop them both into pieces.
- Briefly process the green onions, garlic, and herbs first to break them down slightly.
- Process chicken drob: Place all the remaining ingredients, including salt and pepper, in the food processor, and process until you obtain a rough paste. I never make it too fine; I like to have some bits of meat and greens left. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary, but it should be enough.chicken livers and breast + mushrooms + beaten eggs + 1 teaspoon fine sea salt + ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Bake drob: Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and level. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a nice crust is formed.
- Let cool completely, remove from the baking dish, and refrigerate it, preferably overnight. It slices better if it waits until the next day.
Notes
- Baking dish: You can also bake the drob in a square tin, 8-inch/ 20 cm. In this case, bake it for 30-35 minutes.Â
- Green garlic substitute: If you cannot get green garlic, replace it with more green onions and add about 4 grated garlic cloves to the mixture. Or use 2 oz/ 60 g wild garlic, if available.
Sissi says
I have forgotten to give the link to a post about growing garlic "chives" from sprouting cloves :
http://www.withaglass.com/?p=18599 (I do the same with onions and shallots too... somehow I keep on finding them sprouting from time to time, so instead of throwing away, I grow leaves).
Good luck!
Sissi says
It looks like an extraordinary dish I would really love! Reminds me a bit of pâtés/terrines which always include some livers (pork or chicken).
I don't know if you miss the flat Asian garlic chives or garlic greens. If it's garlic greens, I advise you plant a garlic clove (half of it in soil) in a pot (now you can grow it outdoors) and wait until it grows. You will have delicious greens after two weeks or less. Now in spring many garlic cloves sprout in the fridge (and many people throw them away), so I have now about ten garlic cloves growing!
As for Asian garlic chives, I can easily get seeds here, so let me know if you would like me to send you some!
(It's so funny because I've posted a wild garlic recipe today!).
Chris Scheuer says
Wow, something new for me! I love learning about culinary traditions from other countries.
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
I haven't heard of drob before, but I do love a good pate and this seems similar. Sounds like a great recipe!
Alina Delicious Romania says
Love the mushrooms addition, didn't think about this when I made my drob 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
KR says
We have same problems with lamb. This is expencive and very difficult to get. But I love liver and this is recipe for me 🙂 Even better, that chicken 🙂
Adina says
I love chicken and chicken liver too, but I wish I could make the original someday... 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Is Drob like Hühnerpastete?
That looks very rich!
Adina says
Yes, like pastete, I could not find an appropriate translation for English, only pate which doesn't quite fit in this case.