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Sarma (Sour Cabbage Rolls with Smoked Ribs)

Sarma (Sour Cabbage Rolls with Smoked Ribs) reads umami 9.2, richness 8.1 and salinity 5.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Serbian main, about 5 hr 13 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 9.2 · Richness 8.1 · Salinity 5.6 · Sourness 4.7 · Funk & Ferment 4.1 · Smoke 3.9 · Allium 3.3 · Sweetness 2.4 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Nutty 1.1 · Earthy 1.0 · Bitterness 1.0 · Herbaceous 0.5 · Heat 0.5

What's in it (15)

Time & effort: about 5 hr 13 min (3 hr 57 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 121.4 kcal, 9.5 g protein, 7.1 g fat, 4.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

  1. Separate the soured cabbage leaves one at a time, keeping them whole. Taste a leaf: if the brine is fiercely sour, rinse the leaves briefly in cold water, but do not soak the sourness out, because it is the backbone of the dish. Pare the thick central rib of each leaf flat with a knife so the leaf will roll. Whole soured heads are sold in Balkan and Polish shops from late autumn; a jarred head is better than fresh cabbage with vinegar, which is not the same thing at all.
  2. Warm 30 ml of the sunflower oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the chopped onion with the diced bacon for 12 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent and the bacon has given up its fat without crisping.
  3. Pull the pan off the heat, stir in 1 tbsp of the paprika and let it sizzle in the residual fat for 20 seconds. Paprika scorches over direct heat and turns bitter. Leave the mixture to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
  4. Combine the minced pork and beef with the cooled onion mixture, the rinsed rice, the garlic, black pepper and salt. Work it with your hands for a minute until it is uniform and slightly tacky. The rice goes in raw and will swell into the fat as the rolls cook.
  5. Lay a leaf on the board with the pared rib towards you. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling near the base, fold the sides in and roll it up snugly but not tightly, because the rice needs room. Tuck the loose end into the roll with a fingertip. You should get 20 to 24 rolls.
  6. Shred any torn leaves and spread half over the bottom of a wide heavy pot. Lay the smoked ribs over them.
  7. Pack the rolls seam down in tight circles, two or three layers deep, slipping the bay leaves between them. Cover with the rest of the shredded cabbage and set a heatproof plate on top to hold everything under the liquid.
  8. Pour in the water so it just covers the plate. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook at the gentlest possible bubble for 2 hours 30 minutes. Sarma that boils falls apart; sarma that trembles holds its shape.
  9. For the zaprška, heat the remaining 15 ml oil in a small pan over medium-low heat, stir in the flour and cook it 3 minutes to the colour of pale sand, then take it off the heat and stir in the remaining paprika. Loosen it with a ladleful of the cooking liquid and stir it back into the pot.
  10. Cook 20 minutes more, uncovered, until the liquid is glossy and just clings to the rolls. Let the pot stand off the heat for at least an hour before serving. Sarma is better on the second day and better still on the third.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.