Sarmale

Ingredients

Cabbage

• 1whole soured cabbage (varză murată), 2–2.5 kg, cored and the leaves separated
• 500 mlof the cabbage brine (moare)

Filling

• 800 gpork shoulder, coarsely minced
• 300 gpork belly, minced
• 150 gshort-grain rice, rinsed
• 3onions, finely diced and softened in 3 tbsp oil
• 2 tspsalt
• 2 tspblack pepper
• 1 tbspsweet paprika
• 2 tspdried thyme
• 2 tbspchopped dill
• 1 tbsptomato purée

The pot

• 200 gsmoked pork ribs, in pieces
• 2 tbsptomato purée mixed with 500 ml water
• 1 handfulsauerkraut, shredded, for layering
• 2bay leaves
• 6peppercorns
• 1 tspdried thyme

To serve

• mămăligă
• smântână
• hot pickled peppers

Directions

1. Taste a cabbage leaf. It should be pleasantly sour rather than eye-watering; rinse the leaves briefly if it is too salty. Shave down the thick ribs with a knife so the leaves will roll.
2. Mix the minced meats with the cooled fried onion, rice, tomato purée, dill and all the seasoning and knead for 3 minutes until it holds together. Fry a teaspoon of it to check the salt.
3. Cut the large leaves into palm-sized pieces. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling near the stem edge, fold the sides in and roll into a tight cylinder about 7 cm long, tucking the loose end in with a finger. Small sarmale are a point of pride.
4. Line a deep clay pot or heavy casserole with shredded sauerkraut and a few pieces of smoked rib.
5. Pack the rolls seam-down in tight concentric circles, layering sauerkraut, thyme, bay, peppercorns and more smoked meat between the layers. Pack them snugly so they cannot unroll.
6. Pour over the tomato water and enough cabbage brine to just cover, lay a couple of whole leaves on top to seal and weigh everything down with a plate.
7. Bring to a simmer on the hob, then cook covered in a 150°C (300°F) oven for 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours, uncovering for the last 30 minutes to reduce and colour the top.
8. Rest at least an hour, and if you can, eat them the next day: sarmale are always better reheated. Serve 3–4 per person with hot mămăligă, cold soured cream and a pickled chilli.

Technique

• Keep the rice to no more than a fifth of the weight of the meat. It swells as it cooks, and too much rice gives a pasty filling, which is the commonest home mistake.
• Slow and low is the rule. A fast boil bursts the rolls and leaves the rice chalky; the clay pot and a gentle oven give the even, patient heat this needs.
• Sarmale are Christmas and Easter food, made by the hundred in enormous pots and reheated for days on end. They freeze well once cooked.
• The smoked meat layered between the rolls is not an extra. It seasons the whole pot from the inside as the fat renders down through the layers.

Substitutions

• No soured cabbage: blanch fresh cabbage leaves for 3 minutes and add 200 ml sauerkraut juice or 3 tbsp white vinegar to the pot. The sourness will be flatter and less complex.
• No smoked ribs: a smoked ham hock, or 150 g smoked bacon in pieces.
• Vine leaves in place of cabbage make sarmale de viță, the summer version, which cook in half the time.

Variations

• Moldovan sarmale, rolled tiny in vine leaves and served by the dozen.
• Transylvanian sarmale, larger, layered with much more smoked meat.
• Sarmale de post, the Lenten version, filled with rice, mushrooms, carrot and dill.

History

Cabbage or vine leaves rolled around rice and pork and simmered for hours, a Moldovan celebration and holiday dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sarmale?

Sarmale is a main from Moldova: little cabbage or vine-leaf rolls, festive table centerpiece. Cabbage or vine leaves rolled around rice and pork and simmered for hours, a Moldovan celebration and holiday dish.

How long does Sarmale take to make?

Sarmale takes 1 hr of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sarmale?

Yes, within limits. No soured cabbage: blanch fresh cabbage leaves for 3 minutes and add 200 ml sauerkraut juice or 3 tbsp white vinegar to the pot. The sourness will be flatter and less complex. No smoked ribs: a smoked ham hock, or 150 g smoked bacon in pieces. Vine leaves in place of cabbage make sarmale de viță, the summer version, which cook in half the time.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sarmale?

Taste a cabbage leaf. It should be pleasantly sour rather than eye-watering; rinse the leaves briefly if it is too salty. Shave down the thick ribs with a knife so the leaves will roll.