Recipe: Appetizing Romanian Sarmale

Shawn Carpenter

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Recipe: Appetizing Romanian Sarmale Delicious, fresh and tasty.

Romanian Sarmale. Sarmale is enjoyed year-round in Romania, but especially for holidays like Christmas and Easter. Stuffed cabbage is a traditional dish not only in Romania but across all of Eastern Europe. This is a recipe that my grandmother made and was made and served at church dinners as I was growing up.

My recipe for traditional Romanian Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale) are made with sour cabbage stuffed with pork, beef, and little bit of bacon.

They're the best cabbage rolls you will ever have!

This recipe for Romanian cabbage rolls is tried and true.

You can have Romanian Sarmale using 17 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Romanian Sarmale

It’s 3 lb of cabbage head.
Prepare 1 1/2 lb of gound pork meat.
It’s 4 tbsp of vegetable oil.
Prepare 4 medium of onions, finely chopped.
Prepare 1 1/2 cup of celery, finely chopped.
Prepare 1/2 lb of bacon, finely diced.
You need 1 tbsp of salt.
You need 1/2 tbsp of black pepper.
It’s 1/2 tbsp of sweet paprika.
It’s 2 tbsp of fresh parsley, finely chopped.
You need 1 cup of rice.
You need 1 cup of tomato sauce.
Prepare 1 cup of tomato juice.
It’s 1 quart of sour cabbage.
You need 1 of bay leaf.
It’s 1 of spring fresh dill.
It’s 1 of smoked ham hock.

I've made it probably a hundred times, and have rolled thousands of them!

Sarmale are stuffed pickled cabbage leaves with rice, ground meat (pork, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, or a combination of any of these), seasoning and herbs, cooked until the filling is cooked and the cabbage leaves are tender.

Ever wanted to make authentic Romanian Cabbage Rolls also known as sarmale.

Learn how to make the most delicious traditional Romanian cabbage rolls (sarmale) by following our simple recipe.

Romanian Sarmale step by step

Remove core from cabbage. In a large pot, bring to boil enough water to cover cabbage. Add 2 tablespoons salt and 1/4 cup vinegar to boiling water. Immerse cabbage in boiling water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes. With fork or tongs, gently remove leaves as they become tender. Drain well; let cool. Trim main leaf vein so it is flat like rest of cabbage leaf..
In a large frying pan over medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, bacon, salt, pepper, paprika, parsley leaves and saute until light golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool for 1/2 hour..
Add ground pork, rice and sauteed onions together along with 1/2 cup water, and mix well. This is the meat filling..
Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the meat filling in center of cabbage leaf. Fold right hand side of leaf over filling, then roll from base to bottom of leaf, then with index finger gently tuck left hand side of leaf into cabbage roll to make a nice neat roll. Squeeze juice out of sauerkraut and place 1/2 of jar on bottom of pot. Chop any leftover cabbage and place on top of sauerkraut. Place pork hock on top of sauerkraut. Arrange cabbage rolls, seam side down in pot in neat layers. Place them loosely touching each other and layer on top of one another. Sprinkle with salt between layers. Place second half of sauerkraut on top of cabbage rolls. Spread tomato sauce and tomato juice over kraut and place 1 bay leaf (and optional dill sprig) on top. Cover rolls with water just enough to cover rolls. Place heavy dish on top making sure there is a couple inches between plate on top of pot. Cover pot and bring to boiling and reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 2 hours..
Serve with sour cream and mamaliga for a real Romanian dish..

This is my first attempt too, and they turned our awesome.

They are easier to make than you think.

Traditional Romanian Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale) are always part of our Christmas dinner!

Sour cabbage (Sauerkraut) leaves stuffed with a mix of pork/beef/veal ground meat, slow cooked in tomato sauce with some smoked bacon and fresh thyme.

Traditional This Romanian Sarmale is a traditional stuffed cabbage that is rich in flavor and features fresh herbs, tomatoes, and sustainably sourced pork that is rolled in cabbage and baked to perfection in a delicious tomato sauce.