Sarma recipe

Rolls made from leaves of a whole head of cabbage fermented in salt brine, layered with smoked pork and simmered for hours so the sourness comes from the cabbage itself.

16 hoursmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 sour cabbage head
• 500 g smoked pork ribs
• 400 g ground pork
• 300 g ground beef
• 100 g rice
• 1 onion
• 3 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp lard
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

How to make Sarma

1. Start from a whole head of sour cabbage kept in brine (kiseli kupus), sold in Balkan and Eastern European shops. Fresh cabbage blanched in water makes a sweeter, different dish. Souring a head yourself takes 4 to 6 weeks in salt brine and cannot be improvised.
2. Peel off the leaves, rinse them if they are very salty, and pare down the thick central rib so each leaf rolls flat. Shred 2 torn leaves for the bottom of the pot.
3. Fry 1 chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves in 2 tbsp of lard for 5 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and stir in 1 tbsp of sweet paprika so it does not burn.
4. Mix 400 g of ground pork, 300 g of ground beef, 100 g of raw rice, the onion mixture, 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper.
5. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling at the base of each leaf, fold the sides in and roll tight. The rice only half-cooks, so do not overfill.
6. Spread the shredded cabbage in the pot, pack the rolls seam down in tight layers and tuck 400 g of smoked pork ribs between them; that smoke is half the flavour.
7. Add 2 bay leaves, pour in water just to cover, weigh the rolls down with an upturned plate and simmer on the lowest heat for 2.5 to 3 hours. Add no tomato paste: the sourness comes from the brine.
8. Let it settle off the heat, and reheat it the next day, when sarma is at its best.

Get Copper on the App Store

More dishes from Montenegro →