Sarma Stuffed Cabbage
Stuffed cabbage leaves that have rice, meat and spices in them and are cooked and served in a savory and slightly sour sauce.
Servings: 10 people
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds mild sausage
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion - minced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced or 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon vageta seasoning or 1 vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 heads cabbage - cored
- For the Sauce:
- 64 ounces sour kraut to make sour OR 64 ounces beef stock
- 1 cup ham - chopped
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 8 ounces tomato soup concentrate
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 4 cups water from boiled cabbage
- sour cream to serve on top - this is not traditional but it is delicious
Instructions
- Cook your rice.
- While rice is cooking, In a large sauté pan, add sausage, beef, onion, garlic, vegeta or vegetable bouillon, sweet paprika and black pepper and cook until meat is cooked through.
- Add in rice to meat mixture and stir well.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Boil a pot of water, add a generous pinch of salt and cored cabbages to boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or until the cabbage is just softened. Remove cabbage from water and drain but reserve the cabbage water.
- Remove the top layer of the cabbage leaves and lay them down on the bottom of a large baking dish. This may fill 2 baking dishes depending on the size of the dish.
- To assemble cabbage rolls, take a cabbage leaf and place filling in the center of the leaf then fold in the horizonal ends and roll the other open side over the filling and roll together, like you would a burrito.
- Place the rolled cabbage rolls in a large cooking dish side by side.
- Repeat the filling and rolling process until cabbage leaves get too small to fill and roll. Save the smaller leaves, you'll add them on top at the end.
- Make the sauce by adding the sour kraut OR beef stock (if making non-sour sauce), ham, sweet paprika, tomato soup concentrate, tomato sauce and cabbage water to a bowl and stirring together.
- Pour 3/4 of the sauce over the cabbage rolls, then use the smaller cabbage leaves to cover the top of the rolls and top with the remaining sauce.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until cabbage is soft and tender.
- Serve cabbage roll and sauce with optional sour cream (this is untraditional but it is delicious).