Mangu

sarmale

Next Dish: Pandanas Fruit

Sarmale is a traditional dish popular in Eastern Europe, particularly in Romania, Moldova, and parts of Ukraine. It consists of minced meat, often pork, mixed with rice and spices, wrapped in cabbage or vine leaves. The rolls are then slow-cooked in a pot with tomato sauce, bacon, and various herbs. The dish is traditionally served during holiday feasts, especially Christmas and New Year's Eve.

tomato juice

salt

cabbage

cooked rice

Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 2 large jars of pickled cabbage leaves

  • 1 kg of ground pork

  • 200 g of smoked bacon

  • 2 finely chopped onions

  • 2 grated carrots

  • 1 cup of rice

  • 1 teaspoon of salt

  • 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper

  • 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika

  • 1 bunch of fresh dill

  • 1 bunch of fresh thyme

  • 1 bunch of fresh parsley

  • 1 l of tomato juice

  • 100 ml of sunflower oil


Instructions:

  1. Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Soak it in warm water for about 20 minutes, then drain.

  2. In a pan, heat the oil and sauté the chopped onions until they become translucent. Add the grated carrots and continue to sauté for a few more minutes.

  3. In a large bowl, mix the ground pork, sautéed onions and carrots, rice, finely chopped dill, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, and paprika.

  4. Take one cabbage leaf at a time and place a spoonful of the meat mixture in the center. Fold in the sides and roll up the leaf to encase the meat. Repeat this process until all your meat mixture is used up.

  5. In a large pot, arrange a layer of sarmale, then a layer of chopped bacon, and repeat until all the sarmale are in the pot. Pour the tomato juice over the sarmale.

  6. Cover the pot and simmer for about 2 hours, until the cabbage is tender and the flavors are well combined.

  7. Serve the sarmale hot, with a dollop of sour cream on top if desired.