Sarmale

‘Sarmale‘ or stuffed cabbage rolls are one of those dishes that feature heavily in the cuisine of many Eastern European countries.

In Bulgarian cuisine, they’re called ‘sarmi.’ In Ukrainian cuisine — ‘holubtsi.’ In Polish cuisine — ‘golabki.’ They feature in Macedonian cuisine, Serbian cuisine, Croatian cuisine, Lithuanian cuisine, Russian cuisine, Romanian cuisine, and others.

In Moldova, no holiday or party is complete without these Moldovan stuffed cabbage rolls.

These are cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and minced pork or chicken along with chopped onion and carrots that are slowly simmered. Unlike in some other cuisines, in Moldovan cuisine, they are served with big dollops of sour cream!

Sometimes, they are made with grapevine leaves rather than cabbage leaves. Both versions are delicious, and you should try them both!