Sarmale

Ingredients

• Whole soured cabbage1
• Minced pork800 g
• Short-grain rice — uncooked150 g
• Onions3
• Smoked ribs300 g
• Tomato paste3 tbsp
• Savory and thyme2 tsp
• Bay leaves3
• Neutral oil60 ml
• Soured cream and polentato taste
• Salt and pepperto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Take the cabbage apart into leaves and pare down the thick ribs. Rinse leaves that are too sour; soak overly salty ones for twenty minutes.

   25 min

2. 2

   Fry the finely chopped onion in the oil until soft, add the tomato paste and cook two minutes. Cool it completely.

   15 min

3. 3

   Mix the pork with the rice, the cooled onion, savory, salt and pepper.

   8 min

4. 4

   Put a tablespoon of filling on each leaf, roll it up and tuck the ends in with a finger. The rolls should come out small, about two fingers wide.

   35 min

5. 5

   Line the pot with shredded cabbage and the ribs, pack the rolls in tight layers with bay between them, and cover with the remaining cabbage and leaves.

   12 min

6. 6

   Add water to the level of the top layer and cook three hours on the lowest heat or at 150 °C in the oven.

   180 min

About the dish

The leaves come from a whole soured cabbage rather than a fresh one. The acidity is already in them and passes into the meat over three hours; fresh cabbage does not do that and the sarmale come out flat.

The rice goes in raw and at half the quantity that feels right: it swells threefold. Too much rice tears the leaf from inside.

The pot is closed with a layer of shredded cabbage and leaves. That is the lid that holds the steam and keeps the top rolls from drying while the bottom ones braise.

Worth knowing

• — Sarmale are eaten on the second day. That is not a saying: overnight the acidity works inwards and the flavour evens out.
• — Pack the rolls tightly so they neither float nor unwrap. Fill the gaps with shredded cabbage.
• — At least one smoked item is essential. The smoke is half the flavour, and without it sarmale are merely sour.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

520 kcal

Protein

30 g

Fat

30 g

Carbs

32 g

More from Romania

• Mămăligă — A firm cornmeal porridge, cut with a thread rather than a knife.