Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Romanian Sarmale)

Cooking Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Romanian Sarmale) for Christmas and all other major holidays is a Romanian tradition. They are usually made with pickled cabbage and stuffed with ground pork (sometimes combined with beef), rice and various herbs and spices. We serve these with polenta and a few generous tablespoons of sour cream.

Time: 135 min, Prep: 45 min.  Cook: 90 min.
Servings: ~50 cabbage rolls      

Ingredients:

• 500 g ground pork and 500 g ground beef OR 1 kg ground pork
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. rice
• 2 onions
• 2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 2 large pickled cabbage heads (since pickled cabbage is not easy to find you can also use fresh cabbage*)
• 200 g smoked pork neck or bacon, cut into small strips
• 3-4 Tbsp. tomato paste
• salt and pepper

*If you want to use fresh cabbage, you have to wash it and cut the core out. Prepare brine by mixing 4-5 l of water with 3 tablespoons salt and 120 ml vinegar.  Bring brine to a boil, lower heat to low and add whole cabbage to the brined water. Remove outer cabbage leaves as they wilt.

Directions:

You can watch this video tutorial or read the instructions below. 

Carefully remove the outer cabbage leaves, paying attention not to tear them. You will need 25 leaves, cut in half, to yield about 50 cabbage rolls. Cut the remaining cabbage (middle part) in thin strips.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onions, finely chopped. Cook onion until translucent. Wash the rice and cook together with the onions for 1-2 minutes. Set aside and let it cool off.

Mix ground pork, ground beef, tomato paste (2 Tbsp.), onions & rice, dried thyme and ½ teaspoon pepper.  If you use pickled cabbage be careful with how much salt you add (if any) since the cabbage is already salty. I didn’t add any salt since the pickled cabbage and smoked pork I used were already pretty salty.

On each of the cabbage  leaves, place about 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the center, wrap the leaf around to cover meat and tuck the sides.

Place ½ of the chopped cabbage on the bottom of a large pot. Arrange a layer of stuffed rolls and spread some smoked pork. Continue arranging a second layer of rolls and smoked pork strips and so on. Place remaining chopped cabbage on top.

Combine remaining tomato paste with about 500 ml of water and pour over the rolls and shredded cabbage. The cabbage rolls should be almost covered with liquid.

Cover pot and cook for ~1.5-2 hours on medium-low heat. I used a slow cooker so I cooked the rolls for ~ 6 hours on high. Lastly, uncover the pot and place in the oven for another 20-30 minutes at 180°C (350°F).

Serve hot with polenta and sour cream.

Enjoy!