#"SARMALE" - TRADITIONAL ROMANIAN CABBAGE ROLLS WITH SMOKED PORK RIBS AND POLENTA

* Serve hot with polenta, chilli peppers, and sour cream!

* If you do not like chili peppers, you can try onion instead, eat it as such!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg of minced pork with fat, the tastiest being from the butcher, not

industrialized;

• 500/600 grams of smoked pork ribs;

• Cca. 2 kg sour cabbage (1 large or 2 small);

• 40 grams of natural/white rice;

• 2 large onions or 4 small onions, organic onions preferable;

• Sour cream;

• Sweet paprika or special spice mix for minced meat (not spicy);

• Thyme;

• dill (optional);

• 1 Slice of Toast;

• 2-4 bay leaves;

• Organic tomato juice 550 ml;

• Peppercorns and freshly ground pepper;

• Lard or oil (preferably extra virgin olive oil);

• Water or cabbage juice;

• Salt.

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

The best cabbage rolls are made only from pork. You can also mix it

with beef. With 800 grams of meat, you get approx. 17 cabbage rolls, with

1 KG approx. 25, and with 1.5 KG approx. 35 cabbage rolls.

I‘m offering you the recipe with 1KG, if you want less or more,

change the amount of the rest of the ingredients.

In order for you to work easier and cleaner, I advise you to bring all the

ingredients to the work table and organize them!

In a large bowl, mix the meat with the onions (which we have previously

chopped very finely and fried for 3 minutes over medium heat in olive oil

and a little salt), rice (previously washed with cold water), a slice of bread

(previously soaked in water) is added to the composition squeezed of

water, but not completely, 1 tablespoon of sour cream, then continue with

the spices: 1 tablespoon of paprika or the spice mix for minced meat, a

quarter of a bunch of dills (finely chopped), thyme 1 teaspoon tip, salt and

pepper 1 teaspoon tip.

Mix everything very well by hand, cover, and set aside.

Next, we prepare the cabbage and then we can fold the cabbage rolls and

place them in a large pot. Unwrap the cabbage leaves sheet by sheet,

patiently and carefully until you reach the stub. We remove the stub and

start cutting each cabbage leaf to a smaller size and a more suitable shape

so that we can fold them easily. We cut the hard part with the stub and then

the rest of the corners, the soft part should remain, easy to roll, in a

semicircle shape.

In the end, we start rolling the cabbage leaves, I use as much meat as I

can fit in one hand. Put the meat at the edge of the sheet, roll it, and put the

ends inside, so that the meat does not come out on the edges during

cooking, so be careful that they are folded correctly!

Place on the bottom of the pot a row of cabbage (cut into slices),

peppercorns, 1 broken bay leaf, 150 ml. tomato juice and about 3 thin

slices of lard or 3 tablespoons of oil, a few smoked ribs; we finish with the

cabbage rolls placed in rows, between the rows the rest of the smoked ribs

are placed. Also between the rows and on top, we put the rest of the

tomato juice, a few peppercorns, and the rest of the bay leaves. Fill the pot

with water or cabbage juice (for those in rural areas, we use water in the

city) till they are covered and not more.

Cover everything with cabbage, preferably whole leaves, put the lid

on, and boil over medium heat for about 20/30 minutes, then in the oven

for 2 hours with the lid on at 180 degrees. After 2 hours, take out and taste,

check if everything is boiled both cabbage and meat.

Depending on the oven, it may take about half an hour more. If this is

the case, then leave the last half hour without the lid to brown on top, and

if it is already cooked, leave only 10 minutes without the lid.

# In Romania, cabbage rolls are mainly served for Christmas or other

holidays, at weddings or simply as a dish loved by all and even by

foreigners who visit us. Depending on how many members the family has

and how much you consume per proportion, this meal will delight your

taste buds for 2/3 days!

* CABBAGE - I remind you about cabbage that it is a portion of

exceptional probiotic food, I mean the sour one, fermented of course.

I had the privilege of growing up in the countryside and enjoying the

intense and natural taste of my grandmother's garden. Among other

healthy goodies she made, I regularly ate sour cabbage and pickles, I

confess that I was healthy the whole time I ate her goodies, I didn't even

catch a cold, or if it happened sometimes it was just a light cold and it

passed quickly because I kept my digestive system healthy with probiotics

and organic foods. Grandma used to make a lot of sour cabbage for the

winter in a wooden barrel, that she would use throughout the year.

Amongst the most recommended probiotics by nutritionists is sour

cabbage, so do not throw away what you have left after preparing the

cabbage rolls, cut the rest vermicelli and keep it in the fridge, eat whenever

possible with some fried meat or add to salad as you wish. You can also

confidently drink the cabbage juice that you normally find when you

unseal the package, it helps the stomach a lot.

* POLENTA - It is very easy to prepare and also has many nutrients and

health benefits!

For 2/3 servings you need 1 liter of water, 250 grams of ground corn, 1

tablespoon of butter, and salt to taste. In boiling water, add salt and the

corn (little by little) while stirring constantly with a whisk, turn the heat down to medium, after 2 minutes the corn has absorbed the water well, set aside for a few

moments, and add the butter.

Cook over medium to low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring often with

a wooden spoon.

In Romania, polenta is often eaten instead of bread, along with many

traditional recipes. You will often find this nutritious and delicious gold in

my dishes. It goes great with meat, fish, and dairy!

Dear ones, I hug you dearly, wish you

good health and good appetite!