SARMALE (STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES)
- Minutes to Prepare:
- Minutes to Cook:
- Number of Servings: 20
Ingredients
1 fresh cabbage head ½ c. onion½ c. tomato juice ½ L. bors½ kg. ground beef (or beef/pork mixture) ¼ c. raw riceoil saltpepper dillvegetable boullionpaprikaparsley
To prepare cabbage leaves for filling, rinse the head of the cabbage, and with a knife, remove the base stem to loosen the leaves. Plunge the entire cabbage head into boiling water. Remove the cabbage head from the water and begin peeling off the leaves one at a time. Place the leaves back into the boiling water all at once for about 2 minutes, thereby blanching them. Remove them from the boiling water and drain.
To prepare the stuffing, begin by finely chopping the onion. In a pan, sauté the onion in a little oil over a medium-high flame. Add the other spices to the pan as desired (salt, pepper, dill, vegetable boullion, paprika, parsley, etc.). Remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, mix together the rice, ground meat, and onion mixture.
To stuff the cabbage leaves, first take each leaf and cut off the center ridge, being careful not to make a hole in the leaf. Spoon a good portion of filling onto the leaf and roll, tucking in the sides without ripping the leaf.
In a large pot, place some cabbage leaves on the bottom and add about 2 cups of water. This will prevent the sarmale from burning. Add the stuffed sarmale in a layer across the bottom of the pot. The next layer, place in the alternate directions making criss-cross pattern. Add bors and simmer over a very low flame for about 1 hour or until the sarmale are cooked through. About 10 minutes before the sarmale are cooked, add the tomato juice and/or tomatoes. A key to this recipe is cooking them slowly to enhance their flavor. If the meat contains pork, make sure the sarmale are well cooked. Add more water if necessary. Serve hot with sour cream for a more Transylvanian style.
*Sour cabbage is available at the market. If this is used instead of fresh cabbage, leave out the bors and do not boil the leaves.
Variation: Sarmale Vegetarian (Vegetarian Sarmale)
For vegetarians: in lieu of meat, use ½ kg. of mushrooms and ½ cup finely chopped celery cooked in 4 tablespoons of butter. Drain and mix with rice and spices. Fill cabbage leaves according to directions above.
74
Number of Servings: 20
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JONE7007.
To prepare the stuffing, begin by finely chopping the onion. In a pan, sauté the onion in a little oil over a medium-high flame. Add the other spices to the pan as desired (salt, pepper, dill, vegetable boullion, paprika, parsley, etc.). Remove the pan from the heat. In a large bowl, mix together the rice, ground meat, and onion mixture.
To stuff the cabbage leaves, first take each leaf and cut off the center ridge, being careful not to make a hole in the leaf. Spoon a good portion of filling onto the leaf and roll, tucking in the sides without ripping the leaf.
In a large pot, place some cabbage leaves on the bottom and add about 2 cups of water. This will prevent the sarmale from burning. Add the stuffed sarmale in a layer across the bottom of the pot. The next layer, place in the alternate directions making criss-cross pattern. Add bors and simmer over a very low flame for about 1 hour or until the sarmale are cooked through. About 10 minutes before the sarmale are cooked, add the tomato juice and/or tomatoes. A key to this recipe is cooking them slowly to enhance their flavor. If the meat contains pork, make sure the sarmale are well cooked. Add more water if necessary. Serve hot with sour cream for a more Transylvanian style.
*Sour cabbage is available at the market. If this is used instead of fresh cabbage, leave out the bors and do not boil the leaves.
Variation: Sarmale Vegetarian (Vegetarian Sarmale)
For vegetarians: in lieu of meat, use ½ kg. of mushrooms and ½ cup finely chopped celery cooked in 4 tablespoons of butter. Drain and mix with rice and spices. Fill cabbage leaves according to directions above.
74
Number of Servings: 20
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user JONE7007.
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 102.7
- Total Fat: 5.5 g
- Cholesterol: 23.5 mg
- Sodium: 194.0 mg
- Total Carbs: 5.9 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
Member Reviews