Girls Sarma

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 head of white cabbage (Sarma cabbage, approx. 1600 – 1800 g)
• 1 kg minced meat (beef or beef/pork mixed)
• 100 g rice
• 4 onions
• 4 garlic cloves, approx.
• Salt
• pepper
• 4 tbsp paprika powder, heaped *
• Vegetable broth, instant
• 4 rib(s), smoked spare ribs (chop the bone crosswise once from the butcher)
• Lard, rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp flour

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours

Cabbage rolls the way we like them

Carefully remove the leaves from the cabbage head. Set aside the smaller inner leaves and any torn leaves. Finely dice 2 onions, press the garlic through a press, and add both to the minced meat. Mix together and season generously with salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of paprika. Wash the rice until the water runs clear and add to the minced meat. Mix well. Form the minced meat into small meatballs and wrap each in a cabbage leaf. If there is any meatball dough left over, add these meatballs, unwrapped, to the wrapped ones in a large saucepan. Cut the torn and small cabbage leaves you set aside into coarse strips and place them on the sarma. Divide the spare ribs and sandwich them between them. Pour hot water over the mixture until everything is just covered, bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat for about 2 hours. If you like, add a little vegetable stock to the liquid. Now finely dice the remaining 2 onions. Heat lard or oil and braise the onions in it. Add the flour, sweat briefly, add 2 tablespoons of paprika powder, and then quickly deglaze with a little water to prevent the paprika from burning. Add a little of the cooking liquid from the cabbage rolls. Pour the mixture over the cabbage rolls, mix gently, and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for another 30–60 minutes. Season the sauce again, if desired. Normally, however, the seasoning from the pickled cabbage and the minced meat is sufficient. Serve with farmhouse bread. Instead of the ribs, you can also add sliced ​​smoked bacon. Sarma cabbage is a sour cabbage. I get it vacuum-packed from Turkish shops or larger supermarkets. * Tip: For years, I have been mixing my paprika powder from one part sweet and one part hot powder. Add a portion of chili flakes, and you have my all-purpose paprika seasoning. If this mixture is too hot for you, simply increase the amount of sweet powder.