FILED UNDER: Dinners Lunches Meat Romanian

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage & Vine Leaves (Sarmale)

A very popular gluten-free, Romanian dish made from cabbage & vine leaves wrapped with a filling of pork, smoked bacon, onions, tomatoes, and rice roasted in tomato sauce and red wine!
Ratings
5/5
JUMP TO RECIPE

Prep

1 hour

Cook

1 hour

Servings

40

Every Christmas growing up I knew that we would be having my favorite comfort food, delicious stuffed cabbage rolls. When these came out of the oven, I was always running to the table knowing they would be served with an amazing sauce and dopped with sour cream. The meat filling inside these rolls was spiced to perfection and I would always wonder how they could be so perfectly in wrapped in the cabbage leaves. 

Beyond skill, it’s really love that makes this dish shine because it takes patience and attention to detail to wrap these rolls beautifully. They don’t need to be perfect! It’s really all about the flavor, and with this recipe, you will definitely achieve that!

Made with sauteed onions in bacon fat with spiced pork, rice, tomato sauce and thyme the meat filling is then flavored with an additional layer of a sour cream and egg mixture. Wrapped neatly in cabbage and vine leaves, these rolls are then roasted in a truly flavorful mixture of tomato sauce and red cooking wine.

When they come out of the oven, you’ll be running to try them!

Let me know in the comments below if you tried the recipe and if you have any variations you’d like to share! 🙂 

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage & Vine Leaves (Sarmale) | GF

RECIPE

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage & Vine Leaves (Sarmale)

Ingredients

For the Stuffed Rolls:
  • 2 chopped onions
  • 2 lb of cabbage leaves
  • 1 lb of vine leaves
  • 16 oz of sliced smoked bacon
  • 2 lb of pork (ground or finely chopped)
  • 1/2 cup of rice
  • 1/4 cup of tomato paste
  • 3 cups of tomato sauce (22 oz)
  • 2 cups of red cooking wine
  • 2.5 cups of water
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • 2 teaspoons of dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons of black peppercorns
  • 4 dried bay leaves

Directions

For the Stuffed Rolls:
  1. In two large bowls, add marinated cabbage & vine leaves and cover with water to soak for 20 minutes to remove the sour or bitter flavor (if you’d like to cook the cabbage and vine leaves in separate baking pans, divide them in the two large bowls)
  2. In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add sliced bacon
  3. Render bacon fat for 5 minutes
  4. Add chopped onions and 1 teaspoon of salt to saute in the bacon fat for 5 minutes
  5. Add rice and saute for 1 minute
  6. Add 1/2 cup of water and let the mixture boil until all the water has evaporated
  7. Turn off the heat and add tomato paste, then mix until evenly incorporated
  8. In the same pot, add pork and then mix in one cup of tomato sauce and all of the spices (paprika, thyme, ground black pepper, ground coriander, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt)
  9. In a separate mixing bowl, add 2 eggs (with its whites & yolks) and whisk together with sour cream
  10. Add the egg & sour cream mixture to the pot of pork filling and mix together until evenly incorporated
  11. Starting with the sour cabbage leaves, wrap each leaf one by one with a spoonful of meat mixture and add to a large baking pan with edges higher than the rolls (Sizing: For a small leaf use 2 tablespoons of filling, and for a large leaf use 4 tablespoons of filling)
  12. Once half of the pork filling is used, chop the remaining sour cabbage leaves and set aside
  13. Repeat the same process for the dark green vine leaves, wrapping each leaf one by one with a spoonful of meat mixture and add to a baking pan
  14. One all of the pork filling is used, chop the remaining vine leaves and set aside
  15. In each of the two baking pans, add 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of black peppercorns, and a fresh sprig of thyme
  16. Then in each of the two baking pans, pour a tomato sauce mixture containing 1 cup of water, 1 cup of tomato sauce, and 1 cup of red cooking wine
  17. In the baking pan with cabbage rolls, add the remaining chopped cabbage leaves to form a layer over the top of the rolls
  18. In the baking pan with vine leaf rolls, add the remaining chopped vine leaves to form a layer over the top of the rolls
  19. Cover both baking pans with aluminum foil
  20. Place the baking pans in an oven at 400 degrees Farenheight to roast for an hour
  21. Remove from the oven and serve with the tomato and red wine sauce, feta cheese, or sour cream
NUTRITION FACTS (PER SERVING)

Romanian Stuffed Cabbage & Vines Leaves (Sarmale):

Calories: 150 | Total Fat: 7 g | Cholest: 45 mg | Total Carb: 8 g | Protein: 13 g

Click here for full nutrition label

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

 
 

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Hi, I'm Ophelia! Step into my kitchen where I take you on a delightful journey through the flavors of Eastern Europe. Experience my recipes with simplicity from step-by-step instructions and videos.

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