Recipe: sarma

It's time to cook more Balkan food!

Today I'm presenting you sarma (stuffed cabbage rolls), it's traditionally Turkish meal and is always prepared in Croatia during winter. It is one of those meals you just need to love. It is also often prepared for New Year's day and as a starter for weddings in the part of Croatia my grandma is from.

Ingredients:

• 1 pickled cabbage head

STUFFING:

• 1 kg minced meat

• 4 peeled and crushed garlic cloves

• 1/2 bunch chopped parsley

• 3 tbsp bicarbonate soda

• 1 cup uncooked rice

• 1 1/2 tbsp vegeta (dried vegetable seasoning)

• 1 tbsp hot paprika

• 1 tbsp sweet paprika

• 1 tbsp breadcrumbs

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 egg

SAUCE:

• 400 g passata

• 200 g smoked meat

• 100 g smoked pancetta

• 1/2 kg shredded sauerkraut (rinse before use)

• salt and pepper

• water

Preparation:

Mix all the stuffing ingredients in big bowl until well combined.

Take whole cabbage head and wash each leaf thoroughly. Remove thick part without tearing the leaves and leave them to dry on a tea towel.

Rolling the sarma:

Take one cabbage leaf, put approximately 3 spoons of meat mixture in your hand and form

ball ( don't press it too hard, you don't want it to be dense), put it on the edge of the leaf and roll. Then tuck the sides in the meat so you don't see the mixture.

Place sarmas in big pot. Make layer of sarma then put some shredded cabbage and pancetta then again sarma till you use it all. At the end put smoked meat, passata and fill with water so all sarmas are covered.

Cook it slowly for around 3 hours. It's ready when cabbage has softened and best way to know it is to take one out and try it.

Dobar tek!