Romania
Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, croppedSarmale
/sarˈmale/sar-MAH-leh
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- When
- Lunch & dinnerFestive
- Taste
- SourRich
- Made with
- PorkRiceVegetables
History
Sarmale are cabbage leaves rolled around a filling of minced pork, rice, onion and herbs, slowly cooked in layers in a pot with smoked meat, tomato and dill. In Romania the leaves are usually sour, from whole cabbages fermented in brine, and the rolls are often baked for hours in a clay pot. The dish came with Ottoman rule, and its name is the Turkish sarma, roll, but Romanians consider it their national dish. Sarmale are served at Christmas, New Year, Easter, weddings and funerals, always with mămăligă, sour cream and hot peppers on the side. Families make dozens or hundreds at a time. Vine leaves are used in summer, and in the Lenten season there are meatless versions with mushrooms or rice.
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