Sarma: Stuffed Sour Cabbage Rolls
Balkan sarma, or rolls, made with leaves from pickled cabbage is deservingly called "Queen of Winter."
Ingredients
Filling:
- 16 ounces ground beef or veal, lamb, mutton, pork
- 3-4 ounces bacon or smoked (dried) beef (suho meso) diced, or pastirma or cured ham
- 7 ounces rice white round grain
- 2 onions smaller, peeled, minced
- 3 garlic clove peeled, minced
- 1 tablespoon stock powder or Vegeta, bouillon stock
- Salt and pepper to taste
- (Optional) milk about 2 ounces for softening the filling
Cabbage:
- 1 larger or 2 smaller sour cabbage heads about 24 ounces
Roux and sauce:
- 3.5 ounces oil
- 5.5 ounces tomato sauce or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon flour
- remaining cabbage and leaf veins diced
- 3-4 ounces bacon or smoked (dried) beef (suho meso) or pastirma, cured ham, ham hock, ribs
- water or beef broth
- (Optional) sour cream
Instructions
- In a larger bowl, combine all filling ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands until integrated. Set aside.
- In a big bowl add lukewarm water. Separate sour cabbage leaves from the cabbage head one by one. Stop when you have about ¼ to ⅓ of the cabbage head left. (Keep the remaining cabbage head(s).) Dip each leaf into the bowl with water, quickly take it out, and set it aside on a plate. (This is to wash the extra saltiness off.) You can try a piece to see whether it's still too salty to your taste. If it is, you can dip it in the water again.
- Place cabbage leaves on a cutting board (one by one), and cut out the thick middle vein from each leaf. (Set veins aside with the remaining cabbage head.) Proceed to cut each leaf in half. If the leaves are large, cut them into three, even four pieces.
- Take one leaf piece into your palm. Place about one tablespoon of the filling in the middle toward the edge of the leaf. Fold the longer leaf end on one side of the filling toward the filling, and roll everything away from you, squeezing lightly as you roll. Once rolled, tuck the other side of the leaf in with your finger. (You'll essentially end up with a tiny burrito-like roll.) Set your sour cabbage roll aside.
- Repeat until you run out of ingredients. (You should have about 25-35 rolls with this amount of ingredients, depending on how large you make your rolls. The best rolls are about 1.5x2.5 inches.)
- Combine leaf veins with the remaining cabbage head and dice them.
- In a large pot, heat oil on medium. When it heats up, whisk in the flour until you get a roux (2-3 minutes). Add in the tomato sauce and 1 cup of hot water. (If using tomato paste, add 1.5 cups of hot more.)
- Place the first layer of rolls on the bottom of the pot. Follow up with a handful of meat, and diced cabbage. Repeat layering until you run out of ingredients. Cover with water (or broth) at the evel about the thickness (an inch) of a finger above the rolls.
- Cook on low for 3 hours. Do not stir. Keep replenishing the stew levels so they're at the same level throughout cooking. You'll add about 5 cups of water in total, although this is just an approximation.
- Serve anywhere from 2-6 rolls per person, and cover with 1-2 ladles of stew. The best sides are the bread and mashed potatoes. (Optional) Add a dollop of sour cream. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheating and freezing directions are in the notes.
Video
Notes
*Please note that nutrition information is a VERY rough estimate. Not all ingredients were available on the list (sour cabbage, dried beef, etc.). Kimchi information was used instead of sour cabbage, as the closest. Also, the calculation will greatly depend on the kind of meat you're using. Furthermore, some people eat 2-4 rolls, while others will eat 6-8 sour cabbage rolls.
Assembly: You can assemble sarma the night before and then cook them the following day. Keep assembled sarma in the fridge.
Size matters! The smaller the sarma cabbage rolls are, the tastier they are. So cut each cabbage leaf into at least two pieces, sometimes three, and if the leaf is very big four. However, don't go overboard! If you cut them too small you won't be able to stuff the pieces.
Reheating: The best way to reheat it is on the stovetop, on low, for at least 15 minutes, (or until it's hot). Add a little bit of water to the stew if it's too thick, or running low. Important: only reheat as many cabbage rolls as you plan to eat. Do not reheat the entire pot of sarma unless you'll eat everything! Otherwise, you'll have to throw it away as sarma should never be reheated twice.
Freezing: It's a long process to make them, so it's understandable you may want to freeze some of your sour cabbage rolls. You have two options:
1. Wait for cabbage rolls to cool down completely after they're cooked. Place in freezer ware. Freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge the night before you plan to eat them. Add a little bit of water. Reheat by following the directions above.
2. Place cabbage rolls into freezer ware right after you stuff them, but before cooking. Freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge the night before you plan to cook them. Cook by following the recipe card directions. (We prefer option 2.) Layering: when layering in the pot, some like to first place one or two cabbage leaves on the bottom after the roux before layering sarma rolls. Up to you. Size: make them as small as possible. They taste better this way. Hands: protect your hands while stuffing the cabbage by either wearing latex gloves or washing them in between stuffing. Ingredients: Detailed ingredient notes are in the article.
1. Wait for cabbage rolls to cool down completely after they're cooked. Place in freezer ware. Freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge the night before you plan to eat them. Add a little bit of water. Reheat by following the directions above.
2. Place cabbage rolls into freezer ware right after you stuff them, but before cooking. Freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer to the fridge the night before you plan to cook them. Cook by following the recipe card directions. (We prefer option 2.) Layering: when layering in the pot, some like to first place one or two cabbage leaves on the bottom after the roux before layering sarma rolls. Up to you. Size: make them as small as possible. They taste better this way. Hands: protect your hands while stuffing the cabbage by either wearing latex gloves or washing them in between stuffing. Ingredients: Detailed ingredient notes are in the article.
Nutrition
Serving: 6rollsSodium: 4081mgCalcium: 245mgVitamin C: 89mgVitamin A: 680IUSugar: 16gFiber: 9gPotassium: 2691mgCholesterol: 402mgCalories: 3092kcalTrans Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 104gPolyunsaturated Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 43gFat: 194gProtein: 132gCarbohydrates: 200gIron: 18mg
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