Brined Cabbage Sarma is a traditional North Macedonian recipe for a classic dish of brined cabbage stuffed with minced meat and rice cooked in vegetable stock. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic North Macedonian version of: Brined Cabbage Sarma.
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Versions of this dish come from all over the Balkans, but this particular version derives from Macedonia.
Ingredients:
1 large head of brined cabbage
1kg minced meat (pork, lamb, beef, goat or any other meat)
300g long-gain rice
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp ground paprika
sunflower oil
water, brine from the cabbage or vegetable stock
1 tbsp vegeta seasoning substitute
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry for about 2 minutes, or until just softened. Add the meat and fry, stirring frequently, until the meat is cooked through and well browned. Stir in the rice at this point and add a little water, cabbage brine or vegetable soup. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the rice is half done (top-up with liquid as the mixture cooks, you are aiming for a mixture that is dry and not gloopy) then stir in the vegeta seasoning.
Take the cabbage and separate the leaves. Cut off the thicker parts of the leaf base and make a small slit in the stem (this will help you fold the leaves). Add about 2 tsp of the rice and beef mix near the top of the cabbage leaf and fold the leaf over the filling. Tuck in the sides then keep rolling the leaf towards the stem end, so that you have a neat parcel.
Set these aside, seam side down, as you fill more cabbage leaves. When you have used up the filling mix, take any remaining cabbage leaves and shred them finely. Take a casserole dish and add a layer of the sarmas, packing them in tightly. Cover with a layer of shredded cabbage leaves then continue this layering process, finishing with a final layer of shredded cabbage leaves.
Season to taste with salt and black pepper then pour in about 300ml of vegetable stock. Cover the pot tightly, place in an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 2 hours. At the end of this time, add 80ml vegetable oil to a frying pan. Scatter the flour and paprika over the top and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes, or until the flour is golden then pour the mixture into the sarma. Place on the hob, bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve hot.
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