Hello ladies and gents today's post is about a rarely heard about country called Moldova. Moldovan cuisine is a style of cooking related to the people of Moldova and its breakaway region of Transnistria. It consists mainly of traditional European foods, such as beef, pork, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereal grains.
Sarmale
Ingredients
625g long grain rice, rinsed
900g pork mince
450g carrots, finely diced
450g onions, finely chopped
175g parsnips, finely diced (the original recipe said parsley roots, but we’ve never heard of these, and apparently they’re like parsnips or turnips)
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp dried dill (we didn’t have this so substituted fresh – didn’t measure the quantities unfortunately but kept tasting until it seemed balanced. Maybe about 1 tbsp?)
4 tbsp cooking oil
Salt
Pepper
1 medium head of cabbage, individual leaves carefully removed
Method
1. Place the rice in a large bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let it soak for 15 minutes, then drain.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, onions and tomato puree. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Transfer to the bowl with the rice.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan, add the pork and cook until browned. Transfer to the bowl with the rice and vegetables, season with dill and black pepper and stir until everything is well-blended. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Place the cabbage leaves in a large saucepan with about 5cm of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until tender and flexible.
5. Remove the cabbage leaves from the pan, but leave enough in the bottom to cover. On each of the remaining leaves, place about 2 tbsp of the pork mixture in the centre and wrap the leaf around the cover. (This is easier said than done as not all of them wanted to wrap up… but we did our best! No cabbage leaf stuffing hacks here, though, we’re afraid.) Place the stuffed leaves into the pan.
6. When all of the stuffed leaves are in the pan, place a few more boiled leaves over the top. Pour boiling water into the pot to cover the leaves and place over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the rice is tender.
Serves 5
Sarmale
Ingredients
625g long grain rice, rinsed
900g pork mince
450g carrots, finely diced
450g onions, finely chopped
175g parsnips, finely diced (the original recipe said parsley roots, but we’ve never heard of these, and apparently they’re like parsnips or turnips)
3 tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp dried dill (we didn’t have this so substituted fresh – didn’t measure the quantities unfortunately but kept tasting until it seemed balanced. Maybe about 1 tbsp?)
4 tbsp cooking oil
Salt
Pepper
1 medium head of cabbage, individual leaves carefully removed
Method
1. Place the rice in a large bowl and pour boiling water over it. Let it soak for 15 minutes, then drain.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, onions and tomato puree. Cook and stir until vegetables are tender. Transfer to the bowl with the rice.
3. Heat the rest of the oil in the same pan, add the pork and cook until browned. Transfer to the bowl with the rice and vegetables, season with dill and black pepper and stir until everything is well-blended. Set aside to cool slightly.
4. Place the cabbage leaves in a large saucepan with about 5cm of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until tender and flexible.
5. Remove the cabbage leaves from the pan, but leave enough in the bottom to cover. On each of the remaining leaves, place about 2 tbsp of the pork mixture in the centre and wrap the leaf around the cover. (This is easier said than done as not all of them wanted to wrap up… but we did our best! No cabbage leaf stuffing hacks here, though, we’re afraid.) Place the stuffed leaves into the pan.
6. When all of the stuffed leaves are in the pan, place a few more boiled leaves over the top. Pour boiling water into the pot to cover the leaves and place over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the rice is tender.
Serves 5
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