Name: Romanian Sarmale with Fermented Dough Wraps
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Romanian
Ingredients: 10 cabbage leaves; 500 g minced meat; 200 g rice; 1 onion; 2 cloves garlic; 2 tomatoes; 100 ml tomato sauce; salt; pepper; olive oil; 500 g flour; 1 packet yeast (7 g); 100 ml warm water; 1 tsp sugar; 100 ml milk; 1 egg

Romanian Sarmale with Fermented Dough Wraps

A traditional Romanian dish where cabbage is wrapped in a fermented dough instead of raw leaves, filled with a meat and rice mixture, and cooked in a rich sauce.

75 minutes6 servings

Method

In a bowl, mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add warm water, milk, and egg, then knead until smooth. Let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Blanch cabbage leaves in boiling water until tender.
Mix minced meat, rice, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Roll the meat mixture into small balls and place on a cabbage leaf. Wrap the cabbage around the ball and secure with a toothpick.
Arrange the rolls in a pot, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and enough water to cover.
Simmer on low heat for 1 hour until the meat is tender.
Check that the ground meat reaches 71°C (160°F) throughout before serving.

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