Ingredients for 4

• 500g (1.1 lb) minced pork
• 250g (0.55 lb) minced beef
• 1 large sour cabbage head (sauerkraut), leaves separated
• 150g (5.3 oz) smoked bacon, diced
• 100g (3.5 oz) round-grain rice, rinsed
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried summer savoury
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 400g (14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Recipe

• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté onions for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in rice and paprika, cooking for a further 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
• In a large bowl, thoroughly mix minced pork, beef, cooled onion and rice mixture, summer savoury, salt, and black pepper.
• Cut away the thick central veins from the sour cabbage leaves. Slice exceptionally large leaves in half.
• Place one tablespoon of the meat mixture onto the edge of a cabbage leaf. Roll tightly over the filling and tuck in the open ends securely. Repeat for all filling.
• Finely shred any leftover cabbage leaves. Scatter half of this shredded cabbage and half of the diced bacon across the bottom of a heavy pot.
• Arrange the rolled sarmale tightly in concentric circles over the shredded cabbage base, placing the remaining bacon and bay leaves between layers.
• Mix tomato paste and tinned tomatoes with enough warm water to cover the ingredients, then pour into the pot over the sarmale.
• Cover with a tight lid and transfer to an oven preheated to 150C (300F). Bake slowly for 3 hours until tender.

Historical origins:

Sarmale is a regional adaptation of Ottoman stuffing techniques (dolma or sarma) that spread across southeastern Europe during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th century onwards.