COPPER🇷🇴 Romania
Sarmale recipe
Delicious stuffed cabbage rolls, a Romanian classic!
Ingredients
- 1 cabbage
- 500 g ground pork
- 100 g rice
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 100 g smoked bacon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp dill
- 500 ml water
How to make Sarmale
- Prepare 1 head of cabbage by boiling it in salted water for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the cabbage and separate the leaves as they soften during boiling.
- In a skillet, heat a little oil over medium heat.
- Sauté 1 chopped onion and 100 g of smoked bacon until the onion is golden brown.
- In a large bowl, combine 500 g of ground pork, 100 g of rice, the sautéed onion and bacon, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper.
- Add 1 tablespoon of fresh dill to the meat mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Take a softened cabbage leaf, place a spoonful of filling on it, and roll it tightly while tucking in the edges.
- Layer the stuffed cabbage rolls neatly in a large pot, ensuring they fit snugly together.
- Pour 500 ml of water and 100 g of tomato paste over the rolls, covering them well.
- Simmer the sarmale for 2 hours on low heat, ensuring they are tender and flavorful.
- Serve hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream if desired.
What is Sarmale?
Sarmale is a traditional dish from Romania, simmered in one pot, and takes about 180 minutes from start to finish. It is built around ground pork, rice and smoked bacon. The recipe below uses 10 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Sarmale take?
At 180 minutes it is slower than 94% of the 588 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 10 dishes built on ground pork. The method runs to 11 steps, the longest being 10 minutes.
Any tips for making Sarmale?
Using smoked bacon enhances the flavor of the filling.
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