Grandma Milkas Sodoma Croatian Cabbage Rolls Food

SODOMA

Steps:

• Boil cabbage 45 mins (so cabbage can be used to make rolls) set aside to cool.
• cover uncooked rice with water and soak until softened.
• combine beef, pork, rice in large bowl and mix, salt and pepper to taste.
• place a cabbage leaves flat on surface, place 1-2 TBS meat and rice mixture in leaf and fold up side then roll up.
• Strain sauerkraut retaining juice, set aside juice.
• rinse sauerkraut with cool tap water.
• sprinkle sauerkraut on bottom of large roasting pan.
• place cabbage rolls and 1-2 inch pieces of kielbasa covering bottom of roasting pan, then sprinkle with sauerkraut, continue to layer rolls and sausage then saurkraut until until pan is full.
• cover with water.
• place in oven at 350 for 1 1/2 hour.
• remove from oven, add juice from sauerkraut to broth in pan as needed.
• return to oven and cook for additional 1 1/2 hour.
• leftovers freeze very well.

CROATIAN SARMA RECIPE (STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS)

Steps:

• Take an entire pickled cabbage head. You'll find these on Amazon or in European delicatessens in the chilled section. Wash each leaf thoroughly. Remove the thick part of the stem without tearing the leaves. It's best to allow the leaves to drain on some paper towel or pat each one dry
• Take a large mixing bowl, and combine mincemeat, speck, garlic, parsley leaves, soda water or bicarbonate soda, rice, Vegeta, hot paprika (optional), sweet paprika (optional), breadcrumbs (optional), Salt and pepper, egg & olive oil
• Mix all of the ingredients until well combined
• You want each of the leaves to be about the same size so that each cabbage roll cooks at the same time. So go ahead and cut any large leaves in half, and also join two smaller leaves together as you go
• Take approx 3 tablespoons of the minced meat, and gently combine in the palm of your hand. Do not roll or compress as this will make them too dense when you eat them
• Place the meat on the edge of the cabbage leaf and roll away from you. Then tuck in the sides of the leaf gently into the meat. There should be no exposed meat. If there is, remove some of the filling
• Set the sarma aside, and prepare the sauce
• In a shallow saucepan, or even better, a Le Creuset cast-Iron dish, splash in some extra virgin olive oil, add the 2 diced onions and cook until transparent on low heat. Then add the 2 diced carrots, diced speck, and parsley. Continue to fry on low heat until carrots start to soften
• Add the shredded sauerkraut and create a layer on the bottom of the saucepan. Now, pack the Croatian sarma into the saucepan. They should be packed close together.
• Pour in boiling water so that it just covers the sarma. Add the passata and a pinch of salt and pepper. Every 20 minutes, give the saucepan a shake (do not stir them or they will break) and let them simmer for 2 hours on a low-medium heat

GRANDMA MILKAS SODOMA, CROATIAN [CABBAGE ROLLS]

Steps:

• Place cabbage in a large pot, If you take the time to core the cabbage it will be easier to remove the leaves.
• Fill pot with water until the cabbage is floating. Set temperature to low boil.
• Finely dice the onion and the garlic.
• In a large bowl, combine rice,onion, garlic, hamburger, pork sausage,salt, pepper.
• Mix thoroughly, and form into two inch balls.
• Carefully remove cabbage leaves,.
• With the bottom of the leaf towards you, place a ball on the leaf and roll leaf one comlpete roll, then tuck the sides of the leaf in and continue rolling.
• Place all of the balls on a cookie sheet.
• When all of the balls are rolled, remove cabbage from water, Save the water.
• Chop up the remaining cabbage.
• You can either use the largest pot you have or a roaster oven, which is what I prefer.
• Place bag of sauerkraut on the bottom, add all of the balls, place remaining bag of sauerkraut on top, add the cabbage you chopped up.
• Pour in the water you saved from boiling the cabbage.
• Set Temp to low boil.
• Cook for three hours, the longer it cooks the better it tastes.

GREAT GRANDMA'S STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

Steps:

• Core head of cabbage by cutting around the core and removing as much as possible. Boil large pot of water (fill pot only 1/4 or 1/2 full -- when boiling put cabbage into water and cover with top. Leave cabbage in water and every so often as leaves loosen up remove leaves and place in collander in sink to cool -- when all leaves are removed turn off water and throw away -- (if you have any little pieces of cabbage left at end of core, you can save them to place on top of leaves if you would like.
• In a large bowl mix cooked rice, ground meat, onion, garlic, raw eggs 1/2 can tomato sauce and oregano and a little pinch of kosher salt. Mix well with your hands --.
• Spray 9 X 13 inch pans with Pam. Take cabbage leaves and fill with 1/4 to 1/2 cup meat mixture (depending on how big hour leaves are). Place with seam side down in pans -- Turn oven on 350 degrees. Make up sauce (depending on how many rolls you get from your cabbage and how much sauce you want,you can use between 4 to 6 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes for your sauce), if you like cabbage rolls to have more sauce, you can add a little tomato juice to your sauce. Pour sauce over top of rolls. Sprinkle with kosher salt over top of rolls.
• Bake uncovered to 2 1/2 hours or until browned on top, you may need to add a tomato juice to them once in a while so they do not dry out --.
• Freezes well.