If you have never tried typical Eastern dishes you should start with tasting sarmale. Sarmale are tasty rolls you could pair with a red wine such as Cincinnato’s Polluce or Ercole.
We found out more about sarmale, their origins and the recipe thanks to Isabelle Tudor, head of Limone.ro.
What are sarmale?
Sarmale are cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat, rice, egg and semolina. It is a typical tasty dish from Eastern Europe. Despite Greeks, Albanians, Bulgarians, Croats and Turks claim paternity of this recipe, Sarmale is celebrated in a special day in Praid in Romania.
The origins of the sarmale roots in a remote past somehow connected to the first techniques to wrap and eat food in leaves. In Romania sarmale are cooked for Christmas, weddings, private parties and family celebrations. In fact, each Romanian family has its own specific recipe that is taught from mother to daughter.
What ingredients are needed for the preparation?
Pork minced meat: 300 g
Veal minced meat: 400 g
White onion: 500 g
Carrots: 1
Savoy cabbage: 1
Semolina: 1 tbsp
Roma rice: 150 g
Eggs: 1
Lemons: 1
White wine: 1 glass
Extra virgin olive oil: 4 tbsp
Tomato paste: 1 tbsp
Salt and Pepper: to taste
How to prepare the sarmale?
To start preparing the sarmale, boil rice for about 10 minutes. Specifically, we recommend to use for the recipe Roma rice, which has large, white and rounded grains and is rich in starch. Afterwards, let the rice cool under cold water and mix it with the minced meat, kneading the two ingredients with your hands.
Finely, chop carrot and onion. Place in one in a pan to brown for 10 minutes with 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Afterwards, add a spoonful of semolina, an egg and tomato. In conclusion, season with salt and pepper (to taste) and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
While the sarmale filling is resting, wash and blanch the savoy cabbage leaves for a few minutes in water, lemon juice and a tablespoon of coarse salt. At the end of this process, let them cool for a few minutes.
While the sarmale filling is resting, wash and blanch the savoy cabbage leaves for a few minutes in water, lemon juice and a tablespoon of coarse salt. At the end of this process, let them cool for a few minutes.
Add a spoonful of minced meat mixture inside a cabbage leaf, then roll and fold the ends to close the roll, repeating the operation with all.
At the bottom of a pot, put 2 tablespoons of oil and a layer of savoy cabbage cut into strips, so as not to stick the rolls that you will arrange in layers
Pour cold water almost to cover the sarmale and cook them over low heat for about an hour and a half.
Afterwards add a glass of white wine and cook for another quarter of an hour. In conclusion, arrange the sarmale on a serving dish and serve hot.
