sarma recipe

This classic Bosnian dish of stuffed cabbage rolls with a piquant flavor of pickled cabbage and smoked meat is perfect for holidays and special occasions.

Classic Bosnian Sarma - Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

pickled cabbage*

onion (minced)

oil (divided)

beef

white rice

garlic

sweet or smoked paprika

parsley

nutmeg

black pepper

Vegeta (or salt)

Water

bay leaves

bacon (smoked rib meat

all-purpose flour

tomato paste tomato sauce

*See the post details on how to quickly pickle the whole cabbage head if the store-bought is not available.

Separate each leaf from the pickled cabbage head gently, being careful not to tear, rinse and place in a large bowl

With a knife, remove the thickest part of the rib (stem); set leaves aside. Slice or chop small and damaged leaves.

Spread half of the chopped leaves (or half of the jarred sauerkraut if using homemade pickled cabbage #3) on the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven.

For the cabbage leaves:

In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Transfer onions with oil into a large bowl. Add a pound of ground beef, 1/2 cup rice, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon Vegeta or salt. Mix gently with clean hands until incorporated; set filling aside.

For the filling:

Place one leaf, rib side down, on the palm of your hand. Place about 2 tablespoons of meat mixture on the edge of each leaf, fold sides to the center and roll away from you (see the step-by-step photos and GIF in the post). Repeat until meat filling is gone.

Layer cabbage rolls seam-side down and tight together. Cut the smoked meat into pieces and place it on top of the rolls. Spread leftover chopped cabbage leaves (or sauerkraut) on the top. Add in bay leaves; fill with enough water to just cover the rolls. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours, adding more water if necessary.

Assemble:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small skillet. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour. With a wooden spoon or a whisk, continue to stir flour over low heat until flour is golden in color. Do not burn it! Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste and mix well. Pour the roux over cabbage rolls and gently press down to dissolve in the juices. Do not stir rolls, as they will disintegrate. Cover the pot and continue to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Let cool slightly before serving.

For the light roux (optional):

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1649869008/yxamtiw2y330cqafyeum.mp4

These classic Bosnian stuffed cabbage rolls, aka sarma, have a piquant flavor to delight you! The combination of smoked meat and tangy pickled cabbage leaves filled with ground beef, rice, caramelized onions, and spices is irresistible!

Classic Bosnian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - Sarma

Bursting with flavour, my veganized Romanian sarmale are easy to make, and packed with goodness. Plus they'll keep for around 10 days in the 'fridge, and taste even better, the longer they're kept.

Veganized Romanian Sarmale (Stuffed Cabbage Rolls)

200 g short grain rice

sauerkraut (c.1 kg/2 lbs (note 1))

mushrooms

onion (roughly sliced)

garlic ( roughly chopped)

tsp sea salt

½ tsp ground white pepper

tbsp coriander

tsp Vegeta

parsley (chopped)

75 g soy mince ((or 250 grams/c.9 oz frozen veggie mince) (note 3))

carrot (grated)

thyme ((note 4))

tbsp dried summer savory ((note 5))

tbsp sweet paprika

tbsp smoked paprika

250 g passata

ml sunflower oil ((note 6))

vegetable broth ((note 7))

Rinse the rice well in several changes of cold water, then leave to soak for 15 mins while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut out the core of the sauerkraut, carefully separate the leaves, and rinse them under cold running water. Shake off the excess water.

Remove the central ribs from the leaves, and place them (and the core) into the bottom of a large Dutch oven or stockpot. 

Set the leaves aside, and prepare the filling.

Place the mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, and Vegeta into a food processor, and pulse for a few seconds, until you have a very coarse mash.

Empty into a large mixing bowl, and add the parsley, soya mince, and grated carrot.

Drain the rice, and add to the bowl. Mix everything together well.

Take one of the cabbage leaves, and depending on its size, add 1-2 tbsp of the filling, and roll up (see the images and video above). Place in the pan on top of the sauerkraut bits.

Repeat until all the leaves have been used up. (note 7)

Add the bay leaves, thyme, and savory (rosemary) to the pot, then mix together the rest of the gravy ingredients.

Pour the gravy over the sarmale, and bring to the boil. Once boiling, cover the pot, reduce the heat to its lowest setting, and leave to simmer for around three hours. (note 8)

Any leftovers can be kept in the 'fridge in an airtight container for up to 10 days... when they'll taste even more awesome than on the day they were made!

Hey Nico, 
Thanks so much for sharing this, I really really want to cook this recipe tomorrow, for my first Christmas spent away from Romania. I was wondering how many sarmale are in a serving? So it says 24 servings need 1kg of mushrooms and 150g soy mince, 400g of rice and 2 cabbage heads etc. Do 24 servings mean 24 sarmale or more? I'm aiming to cook around 80.... Thank you!!

Oh my word these look SO good and SO comforting. Perfect for this time of year. Thanks so much for entering this recipe into this month's round of Simple and in Season.

Hehe, they say that Sarma is the best on her third day ;) 
Ours never lived that long, I must say, my other half is always looking for some great vegan Sarma solutions and is doing really well with it, but we never actually wrote down exact measures so every time he makes it, it's something new but never as the last one ;) 

And yours looks great! Thanks for this one, it's going to be cooked as soon as we get our hands on some good cabage!

These look delicious!   I spent 5 weeks teaching in Romania when I was a student and I remember having some lovely cabbage rolls at the house of one of our students.   These look quite hearty and definitely a good warming recipe now that it's getting a bit cooler.  Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x

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Top 2 sarma recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed sarma recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Classic Bosnian Sarma - Stuffed Cab...

Veganized Romanian Sarmale (Stuffed...

The most viewed sarma recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine