no fate but what we make

Passport & Plate - Sarmalute

Romania | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
1 whole head cabbage, about 4 pounds
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 finely chopped medium onion
2 minced garlic cloves
2 1/2 tablespoons raw rice
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons water
1 cup sauerkraut juice reserved from drained sauerkraut (see below)
1 tablespoon Vegeta
10 black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
3 cups sauerkraut, drained (reserve 1 cup juice, see above), rinsed and squeezed dry
6 strips bacon
6 fresh dill sprigs
2 pounds sliced tomatoes (fresh or canned)

 

How to prepare this recipe
-Remove core from cabbage. Place whole head in a large pot filled with boiling, salted water. Cover and cook 3 minutes, or until softened enough to pull off individual leaves.
-When leaves are cool enough to handle, cut away the thick center stem from each leaf, without cutting all the way through. Chop any remaining cabbage and set aside.
-In a large skillet, saute chopped onion, garlic and rice in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add hot water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until rice has absorbed all the water. Let cool.
-Place pork in a large bowl, add onion-garlic-rice mixture, combining thoroughly. Add dill, thyme, salt, pepper, hot pepper, if using, and 2 tablespoons water. Mix completely but lightly so as not to toughen the meat.
-In a medium bowl, mix 3 cups water with sauerkraut juice, Vegeta, peppercorns and bay leaves, and set aside.
-Place about 1/2 cup of meat mixture on each cabbage leaf. Roll away from you to encase the meat. Flip the right side of the leaf to the middle, then flip the left side. You will have something that looks like an envelope. Once again, roll away from you to create a neat little roll.
-Using 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil, coat a large, lidded Dutch oven or casserole dish. Mix reserved chopped cabbage with sauerkraut and place some in the bottom of the prepared Dutch oven.
-Place 3 strips bacon across sauerkraut and cover with a layer of stuffed cabbages. Add another layer of sauerkraut, bacon strips and stuffed cabbage. Then top with remaining sauerkraut. Spread dill sprigs on top and sprinkle with remaining olive oil. Pour sauerkraut juice-water mixture over all.
-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place Dutch oven over high heat and bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Transfer to oven and cook 1 1/2 hours. Then add sliced tomatoes, cover and cook another 45 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking another 15 minutes.

 

The story behind this recipe
This is the very first recipe I made with my grandma when I was young and visiting family in Romania. I remember how flustered I got because I couldn’t roll the sarmale properly and she would tell me: “the only way you learn is by making mistakes, only once you’ve made mistakes can you understand how to do things the right way”. Not to mention this is one my favorite, traditional, Romanian dishes but it has also become a tradition for my grandma and I because whenever I visit, we make them together. If I remember correctly, the lesson my grandma taught me was the first lesson I ever learned about life and whenever I get scared to try something new because I’m afraid of failing, I remember what she told me and go for it. Last year, when she found out she has stomach cancer, I was devastated. She went in for surgery and they had to remove 2/3 of her stomach. During her surgery, seeing as how my dad and I were restless, I asked him if we could make sarmale because that was my way of being there with her. The entire time we were preparing them, my dad was telling me funny stories of when he was a kid and stories about my grandma, as well. After her surgery, while she was recovering, I gave my grandma a call and told her that I had made sarmale because that was my way of praying for her and she started laughing and said: “See! I told you all of those mistakes would pay off!” On the verge of tears, I told her that I love her, that I was glad she was going to be okay and that I couldn’t wait until next summer so I could go visit her and so we could make them together. This recipe is very dear and near to me because it’s the first meal I have ever made and it’s brought me closer to the ones I love.