Author: Jane Simon Ammeson

To say that Carolina Gelen, who immigrated to America from the Transylvania region of Romania three years ago, has taken this country by storm would be an understatement. An engineer by training but a cook with deep roots in her family’s culture and love of food, Gelen now has 1.3 million followers on Instagram, over 650,000 TikTok followers and 29.2 million likes, and 301,000 Facebook followers—all eager for her easy-to-follow recipes. And now Gelen’s first cookbook, Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes (Clarkson Potter 2024), has just been released.

Coming from a Romanian family—on my father’s side—and learning to cook from my grandmother who would, in the typical Romanian fashion, make enough food to feed 20 if only four were coming for dinner, I was excited to interview Gelen and discuss not only the traditional cooking of my ancestors but also her American cuisine. Interestingly enough, Gelen has no formal culinary training, she grew up watching American cooking shows which is also how she learned to speak English.

“It also broadened my food knowledge and palette,” she says, noting that she worked in she in five-star restaurants after coming to the U.S.,

One of the first questions I asked was how the food scene in Romania differs from here.

“Eating out was something we did for a special occasion, once or twice a year, definitely not a nightly or weekly thing,” Gelen told me. “Where I grew up, I can only remember a single fast-food drive-through that wasn’t very popular–though I’m sure a few more opened up since. The supermarkets in Romania are well stocked, but they certainly don’t have as many options as the ones in the U.S. Not to mention the sizing of everything in the U.S. from restaurant portions to potato chip bags being so massive, I remember that being such a huge culture shock in the beginning. The post-shrinkflation American product sizing reminds me more and more of what I grew up with.”

Ingredients we take for granted—canned cranberries and pumpkin puree weren’t available in Romania. But there are things back home you can’t get here. 

“If I go to any local European market, I can definitely stock up on Romanian favorites, but one thing I miss that I can’t find in the U.S. is the local sour cream vending machine from the farmers market in my town,” says Gelen. “I’m not a big drinker, but I do miss some of the wines and liqueurs friends and family would make at home and occasionally gift them to you. Sour cherry liqueur is the one I miss the most.” 

Gelen relied upon her Romanian roots for some of the recipes in her book.

“Chicken and pearled couscous is one of my mother’s go-to dinners, so my one-pan garlicky chicken couscous is highly inspired by her endless versions of this pairing,” she says. “So are her bright pink root vegetable salad, a delicious charred eggplant dip we would make all year long, and a zingy sour veggie soup flavored with sauerkraut. Can’t forget the layered cabbage roll in a casserole or buttery cabbage noodles.”

Others, she says, aren’t exclusively Romanian but are adapted from her travels and experiences such as her Brie Mac and Cheese with Crunchy Panko or Fennel Caesar Salad with Garlic Lemon Panko.  

I asked Gelen what recipes she would recommend for the fall.

“The first one that comes to mind is my toasted farro apple salad with pecans and maple dressing,” she says. “This recipe screams fall, I cut the ingredients into small bite size pieces so you can eat this salad with a spoon. If you’re into meal prepping, it’s perfect as it stores well in the fridge. Top it with grilled chicken or seared steak and you’ve got lunch in five minutes. My second one would be the cheesy potato soup with rosemary croutons – it’s perfectly comforting, rich and filling. It feels like a warm hug in a bowl.”

Pass the Plate took over two years to complete.

“I wish I could capture and translate just how much love, effort and time goes into making a cookbook,” says Gelen. “A brief description–over the course of a year I developed and wrote 110 recipes with headnotes. I had a recipe tester who tested the recipes multiple times so by the time the cookbook went to print, between me, the tester and the culinary team cooking the food at the photo shoot, the recipes have been made at least five times ensuring they taste great and have no errors.”

She narrowed these down to 100.

“The most memorable moment was seeing everyone try the recipes during the photoshoot,” she recalls. “It was such a joy to see their reactions in real time to all the dishes in the book. I still get messages to this day with photos of them making their favorites since the photoshoot.”

Growing up, cooking meant family, love, and sharing. That feel is part of what inspires Gelen in her cooking today. “I’m inspired by the joy people get from eating the recipes I create. I love sharing my recipes with people all over the world,” she says. “That’s what keeps me inspired. It’s hard to put it into words just how rewarding it is seeing your recipes be part of someone’s celebration, holiday or everyday life.”

The following recipes are reprinted with permission from Pass The Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes: A Cookbook by Carolina Gelen. Copyright © 2024 by Gelen Media LLC. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Nico Schinco. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.”

Broccoli Cheddar Beans with Crispy Cheddar Panko

Serves 4 to 6 | Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour

Cheddar Panko

• 2½ ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 1 cup)
• ½ cup panko or other bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Broccoli Cheddar Beans

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• Kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small head broccoli, chopped into big chunks, including the stalk (4 to 5 cups)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or cornstarch
• 2¼ cups whole milk, plus more as needed
• 5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 heaping cups)
• 3 (15-ounce) cans butter beans or lima beans, drained and rinsed (see Note)

For Serving

• Flaky salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
• Aleppo pepper or red chile flakes (optional)

Make the cheddar panko: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the cheddar, panko, and melted butter to the baking sheet and toss lightly with your hands to combine. Shake the pan to even out the bread crumb layer. Bake until the mixture becomes crisp and turns a rich, golden color, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.

Make the cheddar broccoli beans: In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and a big pinch of kosher salt and cook until translucent and soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another minute. Add the broccoli and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is bright green but still firm, 5 to 6 minutes. Feel free to reduce the heat as needed, and if things start to brown too quickly at the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water to deglaze it.

Add the flour and toss to evenly coat the veggies. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli is just tender, about 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheddar to the pan. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth, though a few chunks are okay. (Alternatively, carefully transfer the broccoli mixture to a blender and add the cheddar. Remove the center plug in the lid of the blender to let steam escape, and blend until smooth. Return the mixture to the pan. If you need extra liquid to help blend everything, add a splash of milk.)

Return the pan to medium heat and bring back to a simmer. Add the beans and a hefty pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are warmed through and tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Divide the bean stew among bowls and crumble the cheddar panko on top and top with flaky salt. If desired, garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, some black pepper, and Aleppo pepper.

Note: If you can’t get your hands on butter (or lima) beans, garbanzo or Great Northern beans will work just as well.

Think Cabbage Roll in a Casserole

Serves 6 to 8 | Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

• 1 small head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
• 4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed, plus more for greasing and drizzling
• 2 medium shallots, finely chopped
• ½ cup long-grain white rice, thoroughly rinsed and drained
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 pound ground beef (80/20)
• Kosher salt
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled Tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Slice the cabbage in half, through the stem. Tightly wrap the cabbage halves in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until super soft and tender all the way through, 45 to 50 minutes. Set aside to cool but leave the oven on.

In a medium skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat the rice in the tomato paste, until the mixture darkens and begins to caramelize on the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes.

Create a space in the middle of the pan and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, plus the garlic, paprika, thyme, black pepper, and cayenne. Cook until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and a big pinch of salt and mix well to incorporate the spices into the beef. (We’re looking to use the warmth in the pan to help break up the beef and cook it a little, but not all the way through since it will cook in the oven.) Remove the pan from the heat.

Add all of the tomato sauce and the whole tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them to the beef mixture. Add a few tablespoons of water to each of the cans to swish around and pick up whatever tomato sauce is still in the can. Add that to the pan and stir to combine. This will look like a weird, raw ragu, but remember, this is all getting baked together with the cabbage. Trust the process!

To assemble the cabbage roll cake, grease a deep 10-inch springform pan (see Note) with oil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set the springform on the baking sheet.

Add a dollop of the tomato-beef mixture to the bottom of the pan and spread it in an even layer. Pull off about one-fourth of the leaves from the steamed cabbage. Chop any thicker cabbage core pieces and save them for the final layer. Layer the cabbage leaves over the sauce, letting them overlap as needed to fully cover the sauce.

Add a third of the tomato-beef mixture over the cabbage, followed by another fourth of the cabbage leaves in an even layer. Add another third of the tomato-beef mixture and top with another fourth of the cabbage leaves in an even layer.

Top with the remaining third of the tomato sauce, followed by the remaining fourth of the cabbage leaves, including the chopped cabbage cores on top.

Tightly cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and drizzle the cabbage with a few tablespoons of oil. Continue to bake until the top layer of cabbage is golden brown, about 15 more minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Place the oven rack about 4 inches from the heating element. Broil until the cabbage is nicely charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Slice and serve like you would a lasagna or a cake. The reference photo stacks cabbage roll cakes, your cake should be half as tall.

Note: You can also use a regular 10-inch round pan, though the cabbage roll cake will be harder to remove from the pan. If you go that route, instead of struggling to flip the cake and pull it out onto a serving platter, simply serve it straight out of the pan.