Branka's sarma recipe (cabbage rolls)

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Rating:

4.5/ 5 stars 64 Votes
  • Cuisine: Croatian

Ingredients

500g minced beef topside
500g minced pork neck
250g arborio rice
2 eggs, beaten
250g speck, finely chopped
½ cup vegetable oil
4 eschallots
3 garlic cloves, mashed
2 tbsp sweet paprika sweet
½ cup chives, chopped
½ cup parsley, chopped
1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp mustard powder
20 pickled cabbage leaves (if too large, cut in half with scissors)

Stock
½ kg chicken wings
250g beef oxtail
1 piece dried pork rib from deli
2 stalks celery, chopped roughly
2 carrots, chopped
1 vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper

Sarma:
200g sauerkraut
½ kg speck, cut into 3cm x 5cm lengths
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 eschallots, diced
2 tsp mustard powder
2 tbsp plain flour
1 - 2 vegetable stock cubes
1 tbsp sweet paprika

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Preparation

Heat oil in a small frying pan and fry the speck, then add garlic and finally stir through the paprika.

Remove from the heat. Cool and add to mince with crumbled stock cube, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Stir in beaten eggs, parsley and rice. Mix well with your hands to combine all the ingredients.

Lay the cabbage leaves on a board and add 3 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and shape into a sausage shape. Roll up, tucking each end of the cabbage back into the package.

Continue until all the mix is used.

Tip: Pre-prepare the stock

Stock
Place all ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover with water, bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Cool before using, skimming the surface of fat if necessary.

Sarma
Using a large heavy based pot, add the sauerkraut so it makes a protective layer on the bottom. Gently place the sarma, tucking in the speck between each roll. There will be 2 to 3 layers in the pot.

Pour over the cooled prepared stock, bring gently to the boil and simmer for 1 ½ hours.

One hour into the cooking, heat a frying pan with some vegetable oil, and add the garlic, eschallots, mustard powder, flour, stock cube and last of all paprika. Make a thick paste then add a small amount of stock to make a smooth liquid.

Pour thickening mixture back into the sarma and mix through.

Cook for a further 30 minutes and serve with mashed potato.

If you enjoyed this Branka's sarma recipe (cabbage rolls) then browse more Croatian recipes, meat recipes and our most popular hainanese chicken rice recipe.

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Comments (15)

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24 Dec 2011 08:05 AEST
Tony
Strathmore
Great Applause
I made this version of sarma for my daughter's communion. After researching for a considerable amount of time to find the closest version to how my mother use to make it - this was the closest. Although this version is "complicated" it was sure worth every bit of the slog. I served it up next day to a room full of second generation Croations (all backyard critics) - and the compliments were warmfelt with praise. This is a brilliant receipe and I (with my friends) highly recommend it!
Agree(0 people agree)
Disagree(1 people disagree)
24 May 2011 10:44 AEST
Alojz
taylors lakes
key for best sarma
one thing my mama does with the sarma is... she puts smoked ribs in there that gives it the smokey flavour. also.... the longer you leave the sarma after its cooked the better, and the more its been reheated. sarma is the best to eat after about 4 days after youve cooked it because all the sourness from the sourkraut infuses with the meat..... PREKRASNO!
Agree(5 people agree)
Disagree(0 people disagree)
12 May 2011 08:48 AEST
Cody
Waterford
The best thing ever
being born into a croatian family my Baka and my mother willl make this more than once a year getting all their ingrediants from Adams small goods a croatian deli. I love helping my mum make this recipe because it is such a beautiful burst of Croatia on your taste buds. Vegeta is the only way to do when is comes to using flavourings :)
Agree(4 people agree)
Disagree(0 people disagree)
30 Mar 2011 07:11 AEST
Cathy Kovac
Balmain
Great recipe: MSG comment
To avoid MSG in cooking is increasingly difficult these days. However, considering the list of ingredients in this recipe ( basically all being fresh), i think this is a bit of an over reaction. Just get over it, and substitute the Vegeta spice for a non MSG- containing vegetable stock. It will still taste amazing!
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02 Mar 2011 08:20 AEST
Ana
Balmain
Where to buy pickled cabbage heads(leaves)
Hi David, you can buy the Marco Polo brand of cabbage leaves online from Audrey & Marco www.audreyandmarco.com.au Michelle-Vegeta does contain MSG but not meaningful amounts...they now have a MSG-free version (Delight) that I've tried, its pretty good but I prefer the original.
Agree(2 people agree)
Disagree(0 people disagree)
23 Jan 2011 08:56 AEST
Ana
Greystanes
Sarma...
My family makes this dish from scratch more than once a year. And I mean from SCRATCH. My poor dad has to go to the markets every winter, load up his station wagon with 150 heads of cabbage and haul them home, cut them up, prepare barrels and get everything ready to pickle them.. But the result is well worth the effort. My mum and grandmother do everything themselves. Traditionally mustard powder is not used, but each province in Croatia has its own variation of this recipe.
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16 Jan 2010 09:52 AEST
Jelena
Beecroft
Sarma is delicious but some little tricks are missing
My family makes sarma but I was always taught that before making the cabbage roll you turn it over and shave a piece off a the large vein that runs across it. You save this piece and make the roll but you use the shave piece to plug the roll to ensure that it does not come undone. Without the use of sour cabbage and sauerkraut the dish is not sarma. This dish is best eaten the next day so it is fully cooked and refrigerated overnight before being enjoyed the next day.
Agree(11 people agree)
Disagree(6 people disagree)
26 Dec 2009 09:34 AEST
Tina
Armadale
Sarma
Zan, this IS a complicated recipe for which variations do exist. My mother and grandmother keep it very simple. However, I wouldn't, under any circumstance, substitute the pickled cabbage for any other kind as it very much determines the final flavour of the dish. Otherwise, it's just not sarma.
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