Posna Sarma is a traditional North Macedonian recipe for a classic vegetarian dish of brined cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, leek and onion that's cooked in a blend of vegetable stock and olive oil. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic North Macedonian version of: Posna 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 cabbage
400g long-gain rice
2 leeks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
chilli powder and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
dried mint, crumbled
280ml sunflower oil
water, brine from the cabbage or vegetable stock
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry for about 2 minutes, or until just softened. Add the the rice along with a little water, cabbage brine or vegetable soup and chilli powder, to taste. 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). Season to taste with black pepper and dried mint then take off the heat.
Take the cabbage and separate the leaves. Blanch these lightly in boiling water then 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 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 200ml of vegetable stock and 200ml of the oil. 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 50ml vegetable oil to a frying pan. Scatter the flour 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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