Sarmale
Romanian sour Cabbage rolls
Sarmale, or Sarma, or Krautwickel, are a dish you can find everywhere in Europe. There are
some differences in between the Krautwickel (german version) and the Romanian Sarmale.
For example, for Krautwickel you don't "sour" your cabbage. In Romania, in fall, they "pickle" the whole Cabbage heads to make them last longer. That is giving them the typical sour taste. Also, german Krautwickel don't have rice in the filling and are pan fried first and then cooked in a dark gravy. Sarmale aren't pan fried and are cooking in a Tomato sauce, usually with some smoked meat. If you can't find smoked meat, you can use bacon too. But I prefer more like smoked pork hocks or other cuts.
Since this is a popular and traditional dish, I am sure, every family has it a bit different. And, of course, you will have to work with what you can get. Unfortunately I do not have pickled Cabbage heads or can purchase them somewhere. So I do a lil trick to kind off sour them a bit. Not the same, but getting close.
This dish is traditionally eaten at christmas, new years and eastern. But you can eat it in between as well. It is also great to freeze for later use.
What you need:
- 1 head of green cabbage
- 1 lbs of mixed ground meat (pork, beef)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup (100ml) oil for sauteing
- Thyme dry
- Dill and Thyme stacks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 TBSP black pepper corns
- handful 5 min rice
- 2-3 TBSP Tomato Paste
- smoked meat, Bacon for example. Cut in pieces (use the thick cut)
- Sauerkraut (or rest of cooked cabbage)
- Tomato sauce 1 liter or 4 cups
- 1 small can V8 Vegetable juice (yes, thats a little twist right here with "american" products)
- Salt and pepper
This is how you do it:
Boil in a big pot water with salt and Vinegar. Put the cabbage head in it and wait till the first leave is peeling off basically by itself. Once it is peeled off and soft, remove it to a dish. Continue until most leaves of the head are off.
While the cabbage is cooling off, prepare the meat. Saute the onions until their soft, add the garlic to it. Remove from heat. In a big bowl add the ground pork and beef, Rice, cooled sauteed onions, salt, pepper and Dill. Mix well.
Remove the hard stem from the cabbage leaves but make sure not to cut through the whole leave. Depending on the size of your preferred rolls, half the leaves or cut in thirds.
The rest of the cabbage, chop finely into thin sauerkraut like slices.
In a Casserole dish or dutch oven, prepare with a layer of Thyme and Dill stacks (when you don't have, just use some dry version) and some of the cut sauerkraut (or Sauerkraut from a can). On top of this layer start laying out the cabbage rolls. When you have finished one layer, add more Thyme and Dill stacks, cut bacon and more chopped cabbage, 1 Bay leave and the half of the pepper corns. You may add here the rest of the oil you have left after sauteing the onions. This step is not necessary but gives a great flavor.
Add as many layers as you need to finish the meat mixture, continuing that "pattern". Don't forget to put in the "middle layer" the second Bay leave and the rest of the Pepper corns. If you use a big Casserole, it might be just 2 layers. I had a dutch oven, so I had several layers.
Once you are done, finish that layering with chopped Cabbage and smoked meat or Bacon.. Now add 1 liter Tomato sauce and 1 small can of V8. It should cover the cabbage rolls. If not, add a bit water.
Cover with aluminium foil or the lid of the dutch oven and place it in a 400 degrees oven for around 2 hrs.. After the 2 hrs, remove the lid or foil and leave in another 30-35 min..
This dish is traditionally served with sour cream, the smoked meat it was cooked in, the chopped Cabbage and some "Mamaliga" (Polenta)
Pofta mare
Guten Appetit
Lamb
I want to add a quick recipe for all of you, whom are afraid to make Lamb. Lamb is a very strong
flavored meat and, if not cooked right, can get dry very quickly. Then it's almost impossible to eat because it tastes very...... ugh lol.
Here is a very easy and good recipe we like a lot and it works every time. Unless you have a whole
Lamb rack, what you can cook uncovered, this is how you should do. You can play of course with
the herbs.
This is what you need:
- Lamb meat
- salt, pepper, thyme
- Olive Oil
- Lemon juice
- Aluminium foil
This is how you do it:
Cut the Aluminium foil in nice sizes, enough to pack on piece of meat at a time. Salt, pepper and put thyme on each side of the lamb meat. Pour a tiny bit of olive oil and lemon juice onto the foil.
Tip the meat in the liquid and then turn it around and lay it in. Tuck the foil to nice little pouches.
Lay this pouches of meat into a dutch oven or casserole dish. Place that dish in a preheated 300 Fahrenheit oven for 1 1/2 - 3 hrs.. It's going slowly and low heat. If you have thin pieces of meat, check the meat after the 1 1/2 hrs.. It should be done but just had reached that status.
You can serve the meat with rice and Salad or with whatever you like.
Guten Appetit
Duck
Ente
This is what you need:
- 1 Duck
- 1 Apple
- 1 Orange
- 1 Onion
- Fresh Parsley
- Salt, pepper, Majoram
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Stacks of Celery
- 1 Onion
- 300 ml Red Wine
- 500 ml Chicken Broth
This is how you do it:
Clean the duck and tap dry it good. Cut the Apple, Orange, Onion into small dices. Add to a bowl. In this bowl add salt, Pepper, Majoram and fresh Parsley. Mix it well. Fill the Duck with this filling
and close it the Duck with sticks. Rub the skin of the Duck with salt, pepper and Majoram.
In the oven pan add the sliced carrots, Onion and Celery. You may also add the rest of the filling if
you have some left. Fill it up with the wine and the Broth. Place the Duck on a roast on top of the
vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place in the Duck uncovered and roast it for 1 hrs.. After the hrs
turn the heat down to 325 degrees and let it bake for another 1 1/2 hrs. or until the internal Temp is reached 160 degrees.
Remove the Duck and let it rest a bit. Use the liquid from the fat pan (through a strainer) and
remove some of the fat.
With this fat you may now start the Rue for your sauce. Add the fat in a separete sauce pan and add 2 TBSP of Flour. Now add the liquid and stir it well and simmer until its nice and creamy. Season
it with Salt to taste and maybe a bit Orange juice and wine.
Usually we serve Potato dumplings and Red Cabbage with it. Bread dumplings also work or Tater Tots or Croquettes.
Guten Appetit
Tocana de cartofi
Potato stew
This is a romanian dish. It's simple and good for cold days to fill you up.
This is what you need:
- 1 kg of soft boiling potatos (like you use for mashed potatos) diced
- 1 1/2 l of broth (chicken, beef, vegetable. Doesn't really matter and go after your taste)
- 1 Bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- fresh Parsley, diced
- smoked pork lion or smoked sausage or smoked pork belly
- 50 gr Tomato Paste
- salt, pepper, paprika, Thyme
This is how you do it:
Dice everything. In a big pot heat up some oil. Fry the Onions and the Bell pepper until their soft.
Add the diced Potatoes and fry them for a couple of min with them. Now add the Tomato Paste and
stir well. Fill it up with the broth and season it to your taste. Add the fresh Parsley too.
Let it simmer for 30 min..
Now add the diced meat and let it simmer for another 10 min.. If its not creamy enough from the
Potato's, you may add a slurry of milk and corn starch until its a nice creamy stew.
Serve it with a pickle or enjoy it just like that.
Guten Appetit
Gefuellter Blumenkohl
filled Cauliflower
This is a very fast dish and easy to prepare.
This is what you need:
- 1 head of Cauliflower (cooked until tender around 10 min in salt water)
- Bell pepper
- Onion
- 3 Slices of Ham
- 3 Slices of Harvati
- Butter and Flour and milk for the Bechamel
- grated cheese ( I used smoked Gruyere)
This is how you do it:
Once the Cauliflower is cooked until tender, let it cool down a bit. Cut the bell pepper and onion
into slices. Lay down the ham and add the harvati and roll it up. Cut it in half so you have 6 pieces
of ham/cheese.
Cook the Bechamel. Add 2 TBSP of Butter in a pot and let it melt. Add 2 TBSP of Flour and mix it
well. Let it cook for around 2 min.. Then add milk ( I used 1% Milk) around 250 ml. If its still to
thick once it bubbled up, add more milk. Should be nice and creamy. Salt it and add Nutmeg to your taste.
Place the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Now stick it with the bell peppers, onions and ham/cheese rolls. Cover the cauliflower with the Bechamel. Now sprinkle the grated Gruyere on it.
Pup in the pre-heated oven of 375 degrees and let it bake for around 20 -25 min..
Guten Appetit
Zuericher Geschnetzeltes
Veal Zuerich style
Veal is not one of the cheapest meats. And you usually get them as scallions. Thats totally fine.
So you just have to slice them. Their lean in fat, soft and fast to cook.
This is what you need:
- Veal meat (whole pack) sliced
- 1 pack of mushrooms
- 2 TBSP Flour
- 3 TBSP Oil
- Salt, Pepper
- 100 ml beef broth (or 50 ml broth and 50 ml white wine)
- 150 ml heavy whipping cream (50 ml for the cooking, 100 ml you whip up to whipping cream)
- handful fresh cut chives
This is how you do it:
First slice the meat. Take it long side down and just cut them in thin stripes. Coat them with Flour and fry them brown in the oil. Salt and pepper them then remove them from the pan.
Add more oil and fry the mushrooms till they're nice and brown. Add the broth (or the broth and wine mix) and 50 ml of the heavy whip cream. Let it slowly simmer for a bit until its getting a nice
creamy consistence. Then you add the meat back to the sauce.
Whip up the 100 ml of the heavy cream without anything. Add it to the sauce. Its getting now a really
nice creamy and foamy consistence and makes it feel really light. Salt and pepper the sauce to your taste and add the fresh chives.
This dish goes good with Tater Tots, Croquettes, potato pancakes.
Guten Appetit
Oven roasted Peaches
with Greek Yogurt
I am not a big fan of Peaches to be honest. I think they're kind of boring. But this one here is a
keeper for sure. You can play a bit with flavors. But for me, this works.
This is what you need:
- Peaches, halfed and rock removed
- honey
- melted unsalted Butter
- cinnamon
For the Yogurt:
- Greek Yogurt
- Heavy Whipping cream
- Vanilla Sugar (or vanilla and regular sugar)
This is how you do it:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the halfed Peaches on a baking sheet. Melt the Butter
and add Cinnamon and Honey to your taste. Use a brush and brush generously the Peaches
with the mixture. Place the tray in the oven and roast around 20-30 min or until their soft.
In the meantime you can prepare the Yogurt. Use a Greek yogurt with a bit Fat. I know, its
nothing for the figure. But hey, it tastes great.
In a separate bowl add the Heavy whipping cream, Vanilla flavor and beat it till it starts to
double in amount. Then add sugar until its sweet enough for you. You can go really sweet since
you will mix in the Greek Yogurt too and it has no flavor. Once the whipping cream is ready and
stiff peak, mix in the same amount of Greek Yogurt and stir well.
When the Peaches are done, add a spoonful of the Yogurt mix on the plate.
BTW..... this Yogurt is going really good all by itself!!!!! My daughter loooooves it. You can
also mix in fresh Blueberries or Strawberries or whatever you have and like. Yes, even
Pineapples. I love it this way.
Fuer meine deutschen Followers:
Ihr braucht:
- halbierte Pfirsiche, Stein entfernt
- geschmolzene Butter
- Zimt
- Honig
Fuer den Yogurt:
Greek Yogurt ist in Deutschland Magerquark. Da wir keinen Sahneyogurt haben, muss ich mir den mit frisch geschlagener Sahne und eben diesem Greek Yogurt selber machen. Ihr koennt aber ohne
schwierigkeit einen Vanille-Sahnejogurt verwenden. Duerft aber natuerlich mit Magerquark und frisch geschlagener Sahne mit Vanillezucker auch gerne den mix selber herstellen.
Die Pfirsiche werden mit einem mix aus geschmolzener Butter, Zimt und Honig bepinselt und auf
einem Bleck plaziert. Diese im vorgeheizten Ofen auf ca. 200 Grad 20-30 min weich backen.
Mit dem Yogurt servieren.
Enjoy and Guten Appetit
