Sarmale Recipe – Romanian Cabbage Rolls
Sarmale are Romania's national dish: amazingly comforting, stuffed cabbage rolls with ground pork and rice, slowly cooked for hours.
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 663kcal
Ingredients
Cabbage:
- 1 large head of cabbage either sauerkraut or fresh white cabbage, Note 1
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup white wine vinegar when using fresh cabbage
Sarmale filling:
- 2.2 lbs ground fatty pork belly
- 2 medium onions
- ½ cup white rice
- ½-¾ cup cold water
- 12 oz smoked spare ribs
- 7 oz bacon preferably smoked
- lots of dry savory cimbru, Note 2
- lots of bay leaves
- peppercorns
- dill seeds
- fine sea salt
- 9 oz pureed tomatoes Note 3
To serve:
- polenta or white bread
- smetana or crème fraiche
- pickled hot peppers
Instructions
Prepare the leaves:
- Soak sauerkraut: If you use sauerkraut, separate the leaves and soak them in cold water for 2-3 hours.
- Boil water: If you use fresh cabbage, start by bringing a very large pot of water to a boil, a pot large enough to hold the cabbage head and still leave you some space to handle the cabbage.1 large head of cabbage
- Remove the core of your cabbage. First, cut away the protruding part of the core. Then make incisions with a small sharp knife around the core, about 4-6 incisions around it. Try to loosen it by cutting through it from one incision to another, like making lots of X signs. When the core is loose enough, start removing it piece by piece, cutting it here and there to make it looser.
- Blanch fresh cabbage leaves: When the water boils, add salt and the white wine vinegar. Carefully place the cabbage in the water, first with the hole facing down. Cook it for about 10-15 minutes, then turn it over and start removing the leaves. You will do that with the help of two forks, scratching, and pulling at the edges of the hole. If they don't come off easily, continue cooking the cabbage until they start to come off. Be careful not to scald your hands with boiling water.1 tablespoon fine sea salt + ½ cup white wine vinegar
- You will only be able to remove one or two layers of leaves at a time, so patience is required. Keep turning the cabbage in the pot from time to time. After removing some leaves, leave them to drain and cool down in a large colander and continue cooking the rest of the cabbage until you are able to remove all the leaves. The leaves should be really pliable.
Make the filling:
- Soak rice: In the meantime, wash and drain the rice. Soak it in enough cold water to just cover it until ready to use.½ cup white rice
- Grate the onions or chop them very, very finely.2 medium onions
- Combine: In a large bowl, mix the ground meat, the rice and its water, and the onions. Add salt, generously if using fresh cabbage, and carefully if using sauerkraut, which is already quite salty.Add lots of savory, at least 2-3 tablespoons, rubbing the savory between your fingers before adding it to the mixture.2.2 lbs ground fatty pork belly + rice and its water + onions + salt + savory
- Add some water to the filling to make it soft. This is not a filling like you would have for stuffed peppers; for instance, it must be really soft. Add water little by little until you get the soft consistency. I add about ½ to ¾ cup cold water. Mix well with your hands; the mixture should be soft and slurpy.½-¾ cup cold water
- When the mixture tastes well and the cabbage has cooled down a bit, you can start making the rolls.
Make the rolls:
- Prepare the leaves. You can halve the large leaves in the middle, dividing them at the stem, which you can discard.
- Leave the medium and smaller leaves whole, but cut away the lower part where the stem is very thick and try to cut the stem thinner with a sharp knife, which you will lead over the thicker upper side of the stem.
- If some of the leaves break, don't throw them away, you will either be able to build some rolls with the help of two broken leaves or chop them finely and use them as a base and topping for the sarmale pot.
Roll the cabbage rolls:
- Fill: Place some filling at the base of the cabbage leaf, fold the lower side over the filling, then the right side of the leaf over the meat, and roll. Stuff the left side of the leaf with your finger inside the roll.
Assembling the pot:
- Pork belly or bacon: If you have the rind of the pork belly, you can cut it into large pieces and arrange them at the bottom of the pot. However, if you don't have it, it is fine. Either put a few of the bacon strips at the bottom or start with the chopped cabbage.12 oz smoked spare ribs + 7 oz bacon
- Cut all the leftover cabbage into fine slices, the small inner leaves, and any other rests.
- Arrange rolls in the pot: Place half of it in a large pot (a Dutch oven would be great, but I have used other regular large pots as well). The pot should be large enough to hold two layers of cabbage rolls and still have some space at the top so that the water in the pot will not overcook and make a mess on your stove top.
- Add spices: Place 2-3 bay leaves on the chopped cabbage layer, 5-6 peppercorns, a good sprinkle of dill seeds, and an even better one of cimbru/ savory.
- Separate the smoked ribs and place about a third of them on top of the chopped cabbage.
- Chop the bacon and place about a third of it on the cabbage. Arrange one layer of sarmale on top and top them with bay leaves, peppercorns, dill seeds, savory bacon cubes, and ribs again.
- Salt: If using fresh cabbage, sprinkle the rolls with some salt as well. If using sauerkraut, you will probably not need any more salt.
- Arrange the second layer of cabbage rolls and top with bay leaves, peppercorns, dill seeds, savory, bacon, and ribs. My pot only takes two layers of cabbage but if your pot fits more, continue in the same manner. You should not have less than two layers, though.The pot should not be packed to the brim; the sarmale will expand a bit while cooking, and the water will cook over if the pot is too full.
- Top: When all the rolls are in the pot, top everything with the remaining chopped cabbage.
Cook the rolls:
- Bring a kettle of water to a boil and carefully pour over the sarmale. There should be enough water to hold the rolls but not cover them completely.
- Simmer: Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil, then lower the heat to a minimum. Simmer, covered, leaving a thin crack open for about 2 ½ hours or until soft.
- After this time, preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
- Mix the pureed tomatoes with some boiling water, enough to make the puree runnier. Pour the mixture on top of the sarmale and let it sip through them a bit.Alternatively, you can thinly slice a few ripe tomatoes and place the slices on top. In this case, add a bit more boiling water as well, but not too much.9 oz pureed tomatoes
- Bake: Continue cooking the sarmale for about one hour more in the oven, uncovered this time.
- Tip: If you think that most of the liquid is gone, you can add a bit more boiling water but don't overdo it, most of the water should be gone by the end of the cooking time anyway, and the top of my pot is always a shade darker and slightly caramelized, I like that.
- Serve with polenta or white bread and smetana. And some hot pickled peppers, if you like them.
Notes
- Cabbage: If you're using sauerkraut, try to find whole fermented cabbage heads at a Russian, Polish, or Turkish store. If the leaves are very salty or sour, soak them in water for 2 to 4 hours. They’re already soft and flexible, so rolling them is easier than with fresh cabbage.
- Savory -cimbru -is a must when making sarmale, but if you can’t find it, you can replace it with thyme or Greek oregano, if you can find that – it’s quite similar. I never measure the salt or savory, I just add plenty- less salt if I’m using sauerkraut - and taste until it feels right.
- Tomatoes: Not tomato paste or tomato sauce, just plain pureed tomatoes from a can.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 165mg | Sodium: 677mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g