Mici, or mititei, means the little ones, and Romania eats them in quantities that are anything but. Estimates put the yearly total at around 440 million, and on the 1st of May 2019, when the whole country seemed to light a grill at once, some 30 million went in a single day. They are skinless sausages of minced beef with pork or lamb, heavy with garlic, thyme and spices, and loosened with stock and a pinch of baking soda, which makes them springy and juicy rather than dense.

They are Romania's open air food: the smell drifting from a terrace grill, a cardboard plate, a dollop of mustard, a hunk of bread and a cold beer. Wherever a Romanian crowd gathers to watch something go fast or kick something hard, mici are not far away.

The mici

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) ground beef
• 3/4 lb (340 g) ground pork or lamb
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 4 juniper berries
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) cold beef stock or water
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sunflower oil

To serve

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 g) mild yellow or brown mustard
• 1 loaf crusty white bread
• 1 jar mixed pickles

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