Lenten Cabbage Rolls with Brown Rice

To prepare delicious sarmale, start by selecting pickled cabbage, essential for this recipe. If you use a whole pickled cabbage, carefully cut the leaves, making sure to remove the tougher central part. This will facilitate the formation of the sarmale. I had leaves in brine, so I took them out of the jar, cut and selected the intact leaves from the torn ones, placing them in two separate bowls with cold water to desalinate.

Next, finely chop the onion and grate the carrot on a small grater. Put them in a non-stick pan, without oil, adding a pinch of salt. This is all the salt you will use, as the pickled cabbage already contains salt from the brine. Let the mixture soften over very low heat to sweat, then add the rice that you washed beforehand with cold water. If you decide to include porcini mushrooms, now is the perfect time. If you use dehydrated porcini, make sure to soak them in cold water for at least 30 minutes, then squeeze them well before adding them to the mixture.

Add the tomato juice and chopped dill (I used dried dill) and mix the ingredients well. Place the lid on the pan and let the mixture cool. Meanwhile, remove the cabbage from the water and separate the torn leaves; you will use some at the bottom of the pot and on top of the sarmale, while the other part you chop finely.

To form the sarmale, fill each leaf with a tablespoon or teaspoon of rice filling, then carefully roll them up. In a pot, lay a layer of torn leaves and a layer of chopped pickled cabbage. Then add some of the tomato pulp, along with a little thyme and dill. Place a layer of sarmale, followed by chopped pickled cabbage and tomato pulp, continuing to alternate layers until you finish all the sarmale (I managed to make only two layers).

On top of the last layer of sarmale, add the remaining chopped cabbage, the whole leaves that were not good for sarmale, and the remaining tomato pulp, thyme, and dill. Drizzle the oil evenly over the entire surface, then add water until the liquid reaches the same level as the sarmale. Cover the pot and put it on to simmer over very low heat. A great idea is to place a board on the flame to distribute the heat evenly.

Let the sarmale simmer for about one hour and ten minutes, with the lid on. Their preparation may vary depending on the quantity and preferences regarding the texture of the rice. You can choose to finish them in the oven after mixing them on the stove. These sarmale will become a savory dish, perfect for festive meals or to be enjoyed with loved ones.