Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Sarma)

I'm ROLLING out the red carpet for these Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. This dish is one of my favourite childhood dishes and now it’s a staple with my own own family too. Cabbage rolls are so deliciously healthy, hearty and so satisfying!
This recipe uses simple ingredients to make a delicious meal. That’s exactly what I absolutely love about Slovenian cuisine! These rolls aren’t difficult to make. They need a little bit of time, but the end result is ohhhh so worth it.
I hope that my easy to follow, step by step video instructions will empower you to try making them and they become a family favourite with your family too!

Click to watch my easy step by step directions to make these ➡️ STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS (Video) 

Ingredients 

• 1 whole sour (fermented) cabbage head or a head of cabbage, leaves removed and boiled in hot water with a 1/4 cup of white vinegar 

• 800ml Sauerkraut Jar

• 2-3 cooking onions, diced — 3 Tablespoons reserved and set aside 

• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

• 600g ground meat (We like using a combination of: pork, veal & beef) 

• 1/2 cup (cooked) Arborio rice 

• 2 eggs

• 1/3 cup of oil, and more for frying 

• 16 cups of water 

• 5 Tablespoons of flour 

• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste

• spices: salt, pepper, ground paprika

Instructions

1. In a small pot cook Arborio rice according to package until ALMOST fully cooked. The rice will continue cooking when stuffed in the cabbage rolls so the rice doesn't need to be completely cooked, and then set aside 

2. Prep the cabbage leaves. If you can’t find a pickled cabbage head, you can just boil raw cabbage leaves in a large pot of boiling water with 1/4 cup of white vinegar to get that nice pickled flavour and taste. 
3. Remove the spines of the cabbage leaves and trim around them to make all the leaves roughly around the same size.

4. Reserve about 1/2 a cup of the sliced cabbage scraps. We will be putting these reserves on top of the cabbage rolls when they’re cooking in the broth. It helps keep them from surfacing to the top. 
5. Using a strainer, rinse the sauerkraut from the jar and set it aside. 

6. To make the broth we will need a large pot big enough to fit all the cabbage rolls and broth into.

• In the large pot we will heat up 4 Tablespoons of oil.

• Begin by frying 2-3 diced onion on medium heat  (remember to reserve 3 Tbsp’s of diced onions for the meat mixture) 

• Once the onions are starting to get a nice translucent and light golden colour add the minced garlic, fry together for about 30 seconds or until it’s nice and fragrant 

• Add in the rinsed sauerkraut 

• Add 16 cups of water 

• Sprinkle in 1-2 Tbsp’s of ground paprika  

• Bring this broth to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer 

Meat Mixture

• In a small frying pan fry the (reserved) 3 Tbsp’s of onions, until golden brown, then add in 1 minced garlic clove, fry for about 30 seconds and set pan aside.

• In a large mixing bowl add your 600g of ground meat(s)

• Add the fried onions and garlic 

• 1/2 cup of cooked Arborio rice 

• 1 tsp salt 

• 1 tsp pepper 

• 2 eggs 

• Mix ingredients all together until well combined 

Let’s Get Rolling 

• Grab a leaf, place 1 heaping Tablespoon of meat at the base of the leaf, fold in left side, roll up leaf once, fold in the right side, and then roll up completely

(*watch my step by step video to follow Mama Terezija’s perfected rolling technique to make sure your cabbage rolls don’t open up during the cooking process) Watch video: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Thickening the broth 

• We are going to thicken the broth before we add in all the stuffed cabbage rolls 

• In a medium sized pot, turn on stovetop to a low to medium temperature, heat up 1/3 cup of oil

• Add in 5 Tablespoons flour

• 1 Tbsp paprika

• 1-2 Tbsp’s tomato paste

• 2 cups of boiling water 

• Mix and stir with a whisk until well combined and there are no lumps 

• Add this thickening flour mixture to the large pot of sauerkraut broth by whisking it in slowly 

• Season with salt & pepper to taste. *optional: Add in any of your other favourite spices or seasonings.  

• Start adding in your stuffed cabbage rolls 

• Top the rolls with the 1/2 cup of sliced cabbage reserves 

• Cover and let simmer on low for 2 hours!

** These  stuffed cabbage rolls freeze well and make for a perfect weeknight dinner or your make ahead lunches to enjoy at work. I used to pack these in my children's thermos's for school. Mmmm! Healthy delicious soul food for the win!

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If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram & Facebook!
Hashtag them #sloveniankitchen or #slovenska_kuhinja