Romania: vegan sarmale

Situated at the shores of the black sea in the southern parts of Eastern Europe, Romania’s cuisine is closely related to that of its neighbours. A combination of Balkan foods with Turkish and Greek influences and uniquely Romanian dishes ​[1]–[4]​.

The cuisine uses a lot of different ingredients. Typical starches are corn (often served as polenta), rice, potatoes and bread while vegetables include eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and tomato. Dishes are seasoned with dill, parsley, thyme, and similar herbs. Sour cream is a common condiment.

Some of the less meat-heavy, traditional dishes include roasted vegetable spreads, stuffed vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, etc.) and different stews ​[1]–[3]​. From a vegan perspective, it is noteworthy that the Orthodox church has several fasting periods during which practitioners often give up all animal products ​[3]​.

Cabbage rolls

Cabbage rolls are popular all over the world, from the Middle East to Fennoscandinavia, but are very often associated with Eastern European countries ​[5], [6]​. Typically, cabbage rolls consist of cabbage leaves wrapped around a savory filling with rice, vegetables and often some type of meat. The rolls are boiled and/or baked and served with some form of carbohydrate and condiments, depending on the region. In Sweden, they are enjoyed with boiled potatoes and lingonberries.

Sarmale

In Romania, cabbage rolls go by the name sarmale and are considered one of the country’s national dishes ​[7]​. The rolls are served with sour cream, polenta and sometimes bread and pickled hot peppers ​[8]​. What really piqued my curiosity is that the cabbage rolls are made from the leaves of whole, fermented cabbage heads. They are usually stuffed with rice and some form of pig meat and boiled/baked in a tomato sauce. Spices are typical Eastern/Northern European and include dill, parsley, savory and sage ​[8]–[11]​.

Interesting ingredient

Sarmale are traditionally made from the leaves of whole fermented cabbage heads. Heads of cabbage are de-cored and submerged in brine together with spices such as horseradish and dill crowns. Fermented cabbage heads are also eaten elsewhere in the region and can be found in some Eastern European grocery stores.

These days, I have not had a chance to do much specialty food shopping as I have been largely confined to my local grocery store. So instead of buying whole heads of fermented/pickled cabbage, I decided to make my own.

I managed to find some recipes for whole fermented cabbage ​[12], [13]​ but it seems to take many weeks (and requires a large vessel). Instead, I invented my own version by fermenting whole, individual leaves to give the lactic acid bacteria enough access to ferment the leaves in just a week. Here’s the recipe.

As an even faster alternative, you can boil whole cabbage in water with spices ​[9], [11]​.

Conclusion

The sarmale turned out very well. Very rich and full of flavour. I definitely recommend fermenting your own cabbage for this or buying whole fermented cabbage. I haven’t tried the dish with fresh cabbage but I doubt it can give the same richness and complexity.

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Sarmale

These Romanian cabbage rolls made using fermented cabbage leaves are a delightful treat.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Eastern European, Romanian

Keyword cabbage, vegan

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Author Henrik Persson | veganphysicist.com

Equipment

• Oven proof pot
• Tooth picks

Ingredients

• 1 dl red lentils
• 1 dl green lentils
• 1 dl starchy rice e.g. arborio
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely diced ~100 g
• 400 ml pureed tomatoes
• 10-15 fermented cabbage leaves see note
• 3 tbsp brine from cabbage leaves if available
• 1 tsp thyme, dried
• 1 tsp sage, dried
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, whole
• 1 tbsp dill, dried or fresh
• a few parsley stems
• 5 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp oil e.g. canola
• toothpicks

Instructions

Stuffing

• Sweat half of the diced onion in a tbsp oil.
• Add finely diced carrots, thyme, sage and a tsp of salt.
• Add rice, lentils and an equal amount of water (I boiled it first in a kettle).
• Simmer for 5-10 min, until water is absorbed. The rice and lentils won't be done but they will have become a bit mushy, sticky and more managable.

  Set aside until cool enough to handle. To speed up the cooling you can fill your sink with cold water and place the stuffing in a bowl in the water.

Assemble the rolls

• Meanwhile, drain the cabbage leaves (preserve the brine) and slice them into halves, removing the stiff core. Keep the core.
• Chop the cabbage core and set aside.
• Prepare a cold, oven proof pot by adding 1 tbsp oil, half of the rest of the chopped onion and half of the chopped cabbage cores. Add half of the bay leaves, parlsey stems, dill and peppercorns.
• Make the rolls by placing a little bit of stuffing (1-2 tbsp) on a half cabbage leaf and rolling it up, folding in the sides if possible. Pin closed using a tooth pick.
• Carefully place each roll on the bed of onion and cabbage. Multiple are layers ok if necessary.
• When all rolls are made, cover with the last of the chopped onion, cabbage and spices.

Cook the rolls

• Carefully pour on the pureed tomatoes (400 mL) and 600 mL water. Add a few tbsp of the cabbage brine. If you don't have any brine, add some salt instead.
• Bring to a simmer on a low to medium heat. Since yo can't stir, be careful not to brun the pot.
• Simmer for 60 min with a lid.
• While simmering, preheat oven to 180 C.
• After simmering, place the pot without lid in the oven. Let simmer for another 30 min. This will thicken the sauce and add some colour to the top.
• Serve rolls with the tomato sauce, non-dairy sour cream, polenta, and/or bread.

Notes

Fermented cabbage: In Romania it is common to ferment whole heads of cabbage and use those leaves for this recipe. Whole fermented cabbage heads can be found in Eastern European grocery stores. Alternately, you can ferment your own which takes some time.

A faster version is to ferment indiviudal, whole cabbage leaves (about 7 days), see separate recipe on veganphysicist.com.

An even faster version is to use fresh cabbage and boil a head in water with salt and spices and maybe some vinegar. Not as flavourful as a long ferment but much faster.