A restaurant in Bucharest,  known as La Lordachi, ran out of sausage casings one evening and created Mititei out of necessity. Since the restaurant was famous for it’s sausages, the customers had no problem giving them a try and by the looks of things, they were excellent. They are a traditional dish of grilled minced meat rolls made from beef, pork and mutton and flavoured with thyme, anise, garlic, savory, black pepper, coriander, and sometimes a hint of paprika. They’re really delicious and certainly worth making this Christmas season. The word mititei means ‘small ones’.

Ingredients

• 250g minced pork
• 250g minced beef
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• ¾ tsp harissa paste
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp soaked and ground caraway seeds
• 1 tsp marjoram
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ tsp allspice
• roasted meat stock, for basting (optional)
• 1 tbsp light olive oil, for frying

Method

• Combine all the ingredients, with the exception of  the olive oil and stock, together in a large mixing bowl and mix well until the ingredients are well combined.
• Divide the mixture into small portions (about the size of a tablespoon) and roll into small sausage shapes.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the sausages over a medium heat until they are cooked through – flip over quite often and baste them with a little stock to keep them moist – don’t pour the whole lot in at once, just add a little at a time.
• Serve with plenty of mustard and good, hearty bread.