Romanian Musaca di Cartofi at Bucătăria (Bucharest, Romania)

In Bucharest, at Bucătăria, a restaurant owned by brothers Adrian and Gabriel Alexe, we were introduced to hearty, stick-to-the-ribs Romanian musaca di cartofi.

A relative of better-known Greek moussaka, the dish layers precooked sliced potatoes with a paprika-enriched tomato-meat sauce, then is topped with a thick soured cream called smântâna, plus shredded cheese. Spanish smoked paprika gave the Alexe brothers’ musaca rich, woodsy notes and a more robust character than standard sweet paprika.