Stuffed Cabbage Leaves Rolls
It is a very popular dish in romanian cuisine, it is called "Sarmale" or "Varza Umpluta" especially in the family kitchen, and can ensure the food for couple of days for the family. It is served along the year, and is very common in winter and especially for christmas time.
Main ingredients are: Cabbage, which can be sour (pickled) - it's the most prefered, or fresh cabage leaves, in the sommer are used sometimes vine leaves, the other ingredients are: Pork meat the most used or veal, it's very common to add some smoked pork ribs, Rice which sometimes could be mixed or replaced with maise grind.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg soure cabbage leaves (can be used as well fresh)
- 300 grams rice (for 6 people)
- 500 grams minced pork meat
- 200 grams smoked pork ribs or pork belly
- spices like: paprica, pepper, salt
- one big onion and a can of tomato paste
Cooking Steps:
- wash cabbage leavs in cold water, to reduce sour
- fry choped onion in a littel bit of oil and add meat and fry for 10 min more
- wash rice very well in cold water
- add rice in the bowl and mix with meat, add spices as you like, mix well
- fill cabage leavs with the composition, and roll them nicelly, do not foget to pack the ends
- lay the rolls in a pot, and ad inbetween pork ribs
- add 100 ml tomato paste, cover with couple of choped leaves, and fill with water
- let to boil slowly for about one hour or one and a half, not foget to add water
- prepare the polenta, in boiling salted water add corn flower untill you get a consistence of a porrige, take care, cooling down will get harder, you should get soft paste
Serve on a plate with polenta lumps, or with bread, you can add a spun of sour creme or yogurt over.