Sarmale

Stuffed leaf dishes travelled across the Ottoman Empire, and versions are eaten from the Balkans through the Caucasus to the Middle East. The Romanian sarmale belongs to that family, and the name traces back through Turkish.

What makes the Romanian version distinct is the use of soured cabbage leaves, the pork-heavy filling, and the long, slow cooking with smoked meat that gives the dish its characteristic depth.

It is celebration food above all. Sarmale is essential at Christmas and Easter, at weddings and at wakes, and is typically made in very large batches — a pot of forty or fifty rolls is unremarkable.

The traditional wrapper is a leaf from a whole cabbage soured in brine over weeks, which supplies both pliability and a distinct tang. Fresh cabbage blanched in salted water is the common substitute, and grape or beetroot leaves are used in some regions and seasons.

The filling is minced pork — often with a little beef — mixed with rice, finely chopped onion softened in fat, and seasoned with thyme, pepper and sometimes dill. The rice is added raw and swells as it cooks, so the rolls are filled loosely.

Rolls are packed tightly upright in a deep pot lined with shredded cabbage, layered with smoked bacon or ribs, covered with tomato juice or brine, and simmered very slowly for several hours. Clay pots are traditional and a wood oven is prized.

Sarmale is served with mămăligă, the Romanian polenta, and a generous spoonful of smântână, a thick soured cream. A hot green chilli on the side is common.

It is universally held to be better on the second or third day, once the flavours have settled, which suits its role as food cooked ahead for a crowd.

Portions are counted in rolls rather than plates, and guests are expected to accept more than they intended.