7. Macedonian Sarma

Name: 7. Macedonian Sarma
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1.5 cups Arborio rice; 100ml olive oil; 1 cabbage; 2 carrots, shredded; 1 leek, finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp vegetable stock powder; 3 tsp paprika

8 steps

Prep:1h 20minCook:1h

Suggest serving this with some ajvar on the side.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 03:15:53 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Moderate

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories557.4 kcal (28%)

Total Fat24.7 g (35%)

Carbs77.2 g (30%)

Sugars9.2 g (10%)

Protein8.4 g (17%)

Sodium356.1 mg (18%)

Fiber6.4 g (23%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

4 servings

1 ½ cupsarborio rice

100mlolive oil

1 Tbspvegetable stock powder

3 tsppaprika

Instructions

Step 1

Remove the outer leaves of the cabbage if needed, and core it by taking a knife and cutting the base around the hard stem. This should make a small cone or bowl shape underneath.

Step 2

Boil a large pot of water and place the whole cabbage inside. When the leaves start to soften and seperate, carefully pull them away with tongs, ensuring the leaves stay whole and aren’t ripped. They should be floppy but not completely cooked or soggy. Set aside to cool.

Step 3

Sauté carrot, leek and garlic in some of the olive oil for a few minutes, then add the rice, 2 tsp paprika and stock powder. Fry for a few more minutes, the. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Step 4

Prepare the cabbage leaves by folding them along the stem and cutting alongside the fold. This will give you two cabbage leaf wrappers.

Step 5

Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture in a cabbage leaf, and wrap like a burrito: the long edges fold over first, then roll it up. Squeeze the wrap really tightly to release as much liquid as possible, which is discarded. Remember that this is sealing the sarma. If you have holes in the wrapper, just add another smaller bit of cabbage and squeeze it together to cover. Place finished sarma on a tray.

Step 6

Prick each sarma a few times with a toothpick and chop the remaining cabbage stems.

Step 7

Grab a relatively large, thick pot, and begin to heat up the remaining olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, and about 0.5cm of water. Place the sarma, one at a time, in the pot, packing them tightly. Add the remaining chopped cabbage, and add a generous (multiple-finger) pinch of salt. Place a small plate, that fits just inside your pot, upside down on top, so that it presses the cabbage down slightly. Fill the pot with water until it just reaches the plate. Cook on a low-medium heat for 60 mins.

Step 8

Serve plated up with condiments of your choice, but a suggested option is to have som ajvar, which is a Macedonian eggplant and capsicum spread.