Soups and
starters

Eggplant cream soup is a fine and creamy soup whose main ingredient is eggplant, that is cooked and mixed together with other ingredients such as garlic, onion, and cream. It can be served hot or cold and can be decorated with basil leaves or croutons to add extra flavour. It is a traditional dish in Eastern Europe.

One of the most traditional foods is this eggplant salad/spread that is made primarily during the summer and served with bread, fresh tomatoes, and Feta cheese. It is a very simple traditional Romania dish. It is similar to the Middle Eastern dish, Baba Ghanoush, but without tahini (toasted sesame seed paste). The platter come with a loaf of rustic crusty bread, and it is so popular that it is often eaten on bread for breakfast or lunch, or served as an appetizer on its own.

Zacusca is a vegetable spread popular in Romania and Moldova. Traditionally, a family will cook a large quantity of it after the fall harvest and preserve it through canning.

Zacusca can be eaten as a relish or spread, typically on bread. In the Orthodox Christian majority countries, it is sometimes eaten during fasting seasons due to the absence of meat, eggs or dairy products