Holidays meals of the Romanian are unconceivable without the delicious sarmale. Sarmale are cooked for Christmas, New Year, celebration of various saints and even for Easter.
Although considered a traditional Romanian dish, it seems this delicious food has its roots in the Ottoman Empire (the word “sarma” comes from Turkish – “sarmak”, translated as “to wrap, enfold”). The recipes are different and they are prepared differently in each county, but this delicious dish can be found from the Middle East to the Balkans and Central Europe under names such as dolma, gołąbki, holishkes. In the menus of international restaurants they are called “cabbage rolls”.
But let’s get back to Romania, where there is a large variety of sarmale recipes, differing depending on area or even on the traditions of each family.
There are differences based on:
- The leaf used to wrap the composition: sarmale in sour white cabbage leaves or in raw red cabbage leaves, sarmale in herb patience leaves, sarmale in grape leaves
- Content of the composition: pork, chicken, meat mix, soja, vegetables (rice, mushrooms, etc.)
- Spices: paprika, thyme, bay leaves, dill, green parsley, cumin, allspice, turmeric, coriander
- Sarmale are boiled in – water, borș (sour bran-based liquid), sour cabbage juice or even beer
- Size of the sarmale – in Moldova, Oltenia the sarmale are small, while in Transylvania they may be as big as a fist.
In Transylvania and Banat the sarmale are served with sour cream and bread, in Oltenia with mămăligă cut with a thread or with corn flower cake. In Bucovina they call them galuste and are cooked in the oven.
However, most often the Romanian sarmale are prepared using minced pork (or a mix of pork – beef), wrapped in thin sour cabbage leaves.
This is what you need for the best sarmale:
INGREDIENTS
1-2 sour cabbaged
1 kg minced meat, mix of pork/beef
1 cup of rice (4-5 spoons)
2 medium onions
1 big carrot
Several slices of smoked ham
Tomato juice/paste (to taste)
Salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, branch of thyme
2-3 spoons of oil
PREPARATION
The sour cabbage, previously left to desalt, is washed and the leaves are separated. Remove the core and lay the best looking leaves (use only the thin parts) onto a plate. The cabbage leaves unsuitable for filling are chopped.
The finely chopped onion is fried a little in a pan, when the oil is hot, and when it becomes golden add the grated carrot. Fry them together for a few minutes, then add the well washed and dried rice. Leave them all in the pan for a few minutes, mixing continuously. Then add the minced meat and mix the entire composition until everything is well integrated. You can add some water if it is too dry. Leave it to boil until the rice swallows and the sauce begins to thicken. Leave the composition to cool, then add the spices: thyme, pepper and salt, and mix well. You can add any spice you prefer.
Fill each cabbage leaf with a teaspoon of composition and gently roll the sarmale. The wrapping process (rolling, folding) is very important, the sarmale must be rolled as to secure the filling inside and not to unwrap when boiling.
In a thick-bottomed pot, place first a layer of chopped cabbage, tomato juice, bay leaves, ham slices. Then arrange the sarmale in layers, putting pieces of smoked ham in between. The sarmale may be laid concentrically or in straight rows. They must not be stiffed together because the volume of the rice increased when boiling! Continue laying until the pot is full, leaving a round empty space in the middle, which you will fill with chopped cabbage, on top of which you can add some more sarmale. Pour a few glasses of water to well cover the sarmale. The rice within will absorb a lot of liquid, so add periodically some more.
Cover the pot using an appropriate lid and put it on low heat (180°). Leave it to boil for a few hours, shaking the pot from time to time as for the sarmale not to stick to the bottom and get smoked. If necessary, add some water during the process. The sarmale in sour cabbage leaves are ready!
The sarmale are tastier if left to rest for 1-2 hours in the pot in which they were cooked before serving. They are served warm, with chilly pepper and warm mămăligă (polenta).
TIPS FOR THE TASTIEST SARMALE!
The best sour cabbage is home made.
The meat for the sarmale should be fat, as fat makes the sarmale tender.
Do not exaggerate with the rice to “multiply” the filling! Generally, the quantity of rice is 10% of the quantity of meat – i.e. 100 g for rice for 1 kg minced meat.
The onion and the carrots sweeten the composition. If you like the sarmale more sour, then leave out the carrot and add a maximum of 2 onions.
This seasoning (spicing) of the sarmale is to taste. Pay attention to the quantity of salt. Sour cabbage is salty enough. Instead, do not save on pepper, which gives particular savour to the sarmale.
The tastiest sarmale are cooked in a ceramic pot, in the oven, at low temperature (150°C) and their cooking lasts 3-4 hours. Liquid must be added from time to time too. At the end, the lid is removed and the sarmale are left to brown for about 30 minutes at 180°C. Pay attention not to burn them! This brown cabbage is not preferred by everybody, so it is your choice whether to do this or not.
Alina Margineanu – Balkazaar contributor
