
Sarmale(cabbage stuffed with mince) – a traditional romanian dish
Preparation:
In a big bowl mix the mince of your choice with the onions, rice ,salt, pepper, dill and tomato paste. Add the rice at the end after the rest of the ingredients are mixed well.
Put the meat on the side while tou prepare the cabbage leafs.
Warm water in a pot until it begins to boil. While the water is boiling, core the cabbage with a knife. When the water is done remove from the hob and dip the cabbage in the pot while the water is hot and let it sit there for approximately 10 minutes.
Remove the top layers of the cabbage with two forks and let the cabbage soak more in hot water and repeat this process until you get near the core of the cabbage where the leaves are too small to work with.
You need a decently sized leaf to be able to wrap up the ingredients inside it.
Take leaf by leaf and cut the stump off. If the leaf to big then cut the leafs in 2 and wrap the filling with the cabbage leaves.
Before you start filling the leafs make sure that they are left to cool.
To prepare each roll, place the mixture on a cabbage leaf and fold the leaf over, then roll it into a cylindrical shape and press with your finger on each side for the cabbage to go inside. Ensure also that the mixture is tightly packed inside of the cabbage leaf.
The stump and the cabbage that you didn’t use cut them in small pieces and put them on the bottom of a pot that has a thick bottom and a lid.
Above these,put the cabbage roles 1 by 1 so you make a “floor” of them in the pot. My mum always numbers the sarmale as she says it is good luck if she remembers. Superstition i know.
Keep making floors till you have used all of the cabbage rolls.
At the end add water to cover them up.
Let them boil for 30-45 minutes covered.
It is very important not to let the water boil too heavily as otherwise they will break.
After about half an hour, remove the cover from the pot and take one of the rolls out to sample the meat and the rice to see if they are sufficiently cooked.
If they aren’t, you will have to leave them for another 15 minutes in the boiling pot.
After this time in the pot your sarmale should be done.
You can serve them like my husband with a bit of pepper(the english way maybe) or like romanians do with a chilli and some polenta.
Anyway you choose to serve and eat them they are just yummy!
7 Comments
tinkertink2010
Oh they look delicious – I love stuffed vine leaves so will have to try the white cabbage 🙂 xoxo
otilia stocks
Pickled cabbage is quite good too espeacially during the winter.
Mammasaurus
Oh these look yummy Otilia!
otilia stocks
Thank you hon
Emily @amummytoo
These look really lovely – I’ve never made anything like this and am pondering if it would work with veggie mince. Will give it a try and report back. Pinned and Stumbled. Thanks for joining in with #recipeoftheweek – there’s a new one up here http://www.amummytoo.co.uk/2013/05/tomato-asparagus-garlic-spaghetti/ if you’d like to join in again 😀
otilia stocks
it works for the veggie too! During lent we make them with rice , parsnip, carott. I will blog about it or direct you to a recipe x
Sarah
Thanks for this recipe. I lived in Romania for a year when I was a teenager and all the lovely ladies from our church would invite us for lunch and cook sarmale. They are delicious! Thanks for the inspiration.