Best Sarma Recipes

SARMA (STUFFED CABBAGE)

Steps:

• Place cabbage in the freezer for a few days. The night before making the rolls, take it out to thaw.
• In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, ham, rice, onion, egg, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form meat mixture into oblong balls, using 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time. Then, wrap a cabbage leaf around each ball.
• Spread the sauerkraut in the bottom of a large pot, then layer cabbage rolls on top, placing them seam-side down. Pour tomato juice over rolls, then add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours, adding more water as necessary.

SARMA (CROATIAN SAUERKRAUT ROLLS)

Steps:

• Take the whole sauerkraut head and remove leaves carefully avoiding damaging them. 1500 g should give about 20 to 25 sarmas. Cut the thick part at the bottom of each leaf (cut it triangularly).
• Mix grounded beef, pork and bacon. Add two eggs and very finely minced onion. Cook rice until half done and add into meat. Add salt, pepper and mix hard.
• Take leaf of sauerkraut and put meat in it and make a small package making sure to close ends. I don't know how to explain it but you have to press leaf end into. Do it until you have enough meat or leaves.
• Take a really large pot and start to put sarmas in it. At the bottom put smoked bacon skins if you have any, than one layer of sarmas, one layer bacon or pork ribs. Also add sliced sauerkraut in between. After you lay all sarmas and bacon, ribs and sliced sauerkraut, pour 2 cups of brine over everything (this is optional, my family like really sour sauerkraut that's why I've put it).
• Cook for about 1 hour on mild fire. Some people, and I'm among them like to add this: take small pan, melt lard and fry flour until brownish - add paprika and some cold water and make creamy stuff (we call this "ajmbren"). Add this into sarma and cook 2 to 3 hours.
• The best sarma in the next day, not the day you've cooked it. You can eat sarma up to whole week; you can also freeze portions. We eat cooked potato on lard and onion with it called "restani krumpir".

CROATIAN SARMA SOUP (STUFFED CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Cook turkey bacon in frying pan until crisped, remove from pan to drain on paper towels. Crumble and set aside.
• Add ground beef to pan and brown in turkey bacon drippings until almost cooked through.
• Add diced onion and cook 4-5 minutes until onions are transparent.
• Add garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Drain meat mixture on paper towel lined plate.
• Place all ingredients, including meat mixture and turkey bacon, in a large pot and cook over medium heat until it boils. Turn heat down and cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it gets too thick for your liking. I cook mine 2-3 hours.

SARMA - BOSNIAN STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES

Steps:

• Separate the cabbage leaves, being careful not to tear them.
• Mix meat, rice, onion, salt, pepper, and paprika.
• Place about a tablespoon or more (use your own judgment based on the size of the leaves) of the meat mixture into each cabbage leaf, near its base.
• Begin rolling the leaf from the base into a thick cylinder, tucking in the sides after the first "roll."
• Layer the cylinders tightly into a medium-sized or large pot.
• Cover the sarma with beef stock or water (I find that if you use water, it makes its own broth anyways with the meat as it cooks).
• Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for at least three hours.
• Serve with butter and sour cream, with or without some of the cooking liquids according to your preference.
• *Boiled potatoes are often eaten with sarma, and they go quite well together.

DRINKA'S SARMA - MEAT BALLS IN SAUERKRAUT

Steps:

• Wash sauerkraut with water and cut off the thick wooden inner part of the leaves. Fill mass: Mix other ingredients except for smoke-dried meet in a bowl, until it gets the consistency of light dough. Take 2 spoonfulls of fill mass and roll into a sauerkraut leaf. staple all the rolls in a large pot. put the smoke-dried meet inbetween. cover with one or two spare leaves. Pour in hot water until all rolls are covered. Cover with a plate, so that rolls are always covered with water. Leave to cook slowly and on small fire for 30 mins. Additional instruction: Add mashed potatoes if you wish. Cook additional 10-15 mins.

SARMA, STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES FROM DALMATIA

Steps:

• Remove any wilted or bruised leaves from the cabbage and cut out the center core.
• Pour boiling water over the cabbages to soften.
• Meanwhile, in the oil, sauté the bacon and onion until the bacon is cooked.
• Add minced garlic.
• Beat the egg and add the salt, pepper, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, ground beef, pork or ham and half the tomatoes.
• Add the bacon mixture and rice and combine thoroughly.
• Separate the cabbage leaves and drain.
• Place a heaping tablespoon of stuffing at the core end of each cabbage leaf and roll up carefully, tucking in the ends.
• Layer the rolls in a Dutch oven or heavy kettle.
• Chop up the small unused leaves and place on top.
• Pour the remaining tomatoes and juice over top and add enough water to cover the rolls.
• Cover and simmer for 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

CROATIAN SARMA SOUP (STUFFED CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Cook turkey bacon in frying pan until crisped, remove from pan to drain on paper towels. Crumble and set aside.
• Add ground beef to pan and brown in turkey bacon drippings until almost cooked through.
• Add diced onion and cook 4-5 minutes until onions are transparent.
• Add garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
• Drain meat mixture on paper towel lined plate.
• Place all ingredients, including meat mixture and turkey bacon, in a large pot and cook over medium heat until it boils. Turn heat down and cook for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it gets too thick for your liking. I cook mine 2-3 hours.

SARMA (CABBAGE ROLLS)

Steps:

• Remove bruised leaves from cabbage and cut out center core.
• Pour boiling water over cabbages to soften.
• Meanwhile, sauté bacon and onion until bacon is done.
• Add half the tomato soup.
• Beat eggs and add salt, pepper, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, ground beef, pork and ham.
• Add bacon mixture and rice and mix thoroughly.
• Separate cabbage leaves and drain.
• Place heaping tablespoon of stuffing at core end of each cabbage leaf and roll carefully, tucking in ends.
• Place rolls in layers in Dutch oven or heavy kettle.
• Chop small unused leaves and place over to.
• Pour remaining soup and add enough water to cover rolls.
• Cover and simmer 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

SARMA HOT DISH

Steps:

• Cut your cabbage into small pieces and set aside.
• Cut bacon into small pieces (I slice down the middle of a piece and then chop it) and brown well.
• Remove the pieces of bacon and then brown your diced onion in the bacon grease (yes, use bacon fat).
• Remove your onions and brown your ground beef (this is all the same pan). Season the ground beef with salt, pepper, and garlic granules.
• Mix your meat, bacon pieces, and onions together.
• While you're doing the browning, have your rice cooking in the tomato juice, also make sure to use the salt, pepper, and garlic granules, to taste, in the rice pot. Cook rice until "almost" done (15-17 minutes).
• When your rice is done, add your meat mixture to the rice and mix together well.
• Now the layering process, in the following order going from bottom to top ... 1. 1/2 of the Cabbage 2. 1/2 of the Sauerkraut 3. 1/2 of the Meat/rice mixture. Repeat the layering one more time.
• Bake covered in a 350 degree oven for approximately 1-1/2 hours. If it seems dry, add some hot water around the edges BUT DO NOT STIR MIXTURE! (Usually it is not dry.)
• Note: I have doubled this in a large roasting pan for bigger crowds, or made two hot dishes(normal recipe amount fits into a 2.5-3 qt size hot dish). Also, depending on the cabbage size, I've not used the entire thing, just eyeball it while layering. You want nice coverage, but not so much that it is all you have, as the sauerkraut goes on top of that.

SARMA

Steps:

• Put the cabbage into the freezer a few days beforehand, and take it out the night before making the sarma. This softens the cabbage and readies it for stuffing.
• Combine the remaining ingredients, except the sauerkraut and the tomato sauce or juice, and form into oblong balls or sarmas about the size of a clenched fist. Wrap each sarma in a cabbage leaf.
• In a large pot, layer the sauerkraut and sarmas, starting with the sauerkraut. When laying down the sarmas, make sure the seam side of the cabbage leaf faces down. Add the tomato sauce or juice and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, for about 3 hours. Add more water if necessary.

SARMA

Steps:

• Cook onions in olive oil for about 10 minutes (until onions are limp, but not brown) . Add washed rice and cook for 5 more minutes. Seperately saute pine nuts in a little butter until golden brown. Pine nuts brown very quickly so watch carefully. Add pine nuts, allspice (I grind myself, but you can use already ground allspice), salt, pepper and parsley. Mix well. Bring onion mixture to room temperature. (you can cover tightly and let cool in the refrigerator) In a medium pot, place a layer of flat grape leaves on the bottom, so that the sarma will not burn or stick to bottom of pot. To make Sarma, place grape leave with vein side up. Place about a tablespoon (depending on size of the leaf) of onion mixture in lower third of leaf. Turn lower edge of leaf over mixture. Turn left and right edges of leaf over mixture. Then roll tightly to top. Place rolled grape leaves neatly in pot. Cover with one cup of water and a little less than a full squeezed lemon. If possible, place a plate (face down) on top of final layer of sarma so that they stay in place while cooking. Make sure you put in a plate that won't crack!!!!) Bring to boil, reduce to simmer , cover and cook for approximately 45 minutes (or until water is absorbed). Let sit for an hour or until cool before removing sarma from pot. I arrange on a glass platter in a concentric pattern and garnish with lemon and parsley. You can make Sarma a day or two in advance of serving. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in cool place. Refrigerate left overs. Good luck!!!