These traditional Romanian meatballs, called chiftele, are pretty unique, as well as being absolutely delicious. Most cuisines have their own version of ground meat rolled into a ball, but there are many regional differences in meatballs

The ingredients and the spices in meatballs indicate the flavors that dominate a region’s cuisine. For Romania, that ingredient is dill. If possible, using fresh dill rather than dried will result in a flavor that will be closer to the taste you would experience in a traditional Romanian dish.

Romanian Meatball with Eggplant and Red Pepper Sauce (Zacusca)

Chiftele are also unique because the meatballs are made with potatoes (as well as other vegetables) in the mix. We’d never tried a meatball that contained grated potato. The addition results in a moist meatball with an interesting texture. It is less bready but still very tender and juicy.

When making the meatball, it’s critical to include the step of squeezing the liquid out of the grated vegetables, otherwise, the mix will be too wet when the vegetables release water during the cooking process. That will cause them to fail to hold together well.

The other unique feature of Romanian chiftele meatballs is that they are often flat, like a mini-burger. The shape is not critical to the cooking process, so if you want to form them in a traditional round shape, they will turn out just fine. 

This dish is often accompanied by pickled vegetables or another side dish to balance the flavors. We particularly like to eat the meatballs accompanied by another cold classic Romanian dish. The colorful sauce, called zacusca, features eggplant and red peppers.

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out some of our other Eastern European recipes:

Beetroot Salad with Horseradish

Beef Borscht – Beetroot and Cabbage Soup

Romanian White Cabbage Salad – Salatǎ de Varzǎ

Budinca de Dovlecei – Zucchini Pie

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Yield: 4-6 servings

Chiftele - Romanian Meatballs

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Chiftele (Romanian Meatballs) put a unique spin on an old favorite with the addition of grated potato and lots of fresh herbs.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 lb (225 kg) ground pork *
• 1/2 lb (225 kg) ground beef *
• 1 large potato, grated (approximately 3/4 cup)
• 1 carrot, grated (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup (30 g) breadcrumbs 
• 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) salt 
• 1/4 tsp (.58 g) pepper or to taste
• 2 Tablspoons parsley finely chopped (about 4 sprigs)
• 2 Tablespoons dill fresh, finely chopped (about 4 sprigs)
• oil for frying

Instructions

1. Peel the potato and grate it.
2. Take the grated potato in your hands or in a cheesecloth/dish towel and squeeze out as much excess water as possible.
3. Grate and press the water out of the carrot as well.
4. Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves. 
5. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, potato and onion and saute until tender, approximately 5 - 7 minutes. Let the mixture cool.
6. In a large bowl, add the onion/potato mixture, ground meat, eggs and breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, parsley and dill.
7. Using your hands or a large spoon, mix everything together well. 
8. Form mixture into balls, approximately the size of a large walnut. Flatten balls into small patties.
9. Add oil to a large skillet and fry the meatballs on both sides, 3-4 minutes each side, until they are golden brown.
10. Serve immediately.

Notes

*Traditionally, these can be made with any combination of ground meat, including beef, pork, veal and/or lamb.

Nutrition Information

Yield

20

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 102Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 30mgSodium 64mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 7g

The nutritional information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients used.