Thanks to a Vodice chef, Luka, and his family, my culinary travels through Croatia introduced me to the flavorful traditional dishes from across the country. Varied by region to reflect local ingredients, each dish seemed to hold a tale of family and journeys and heritage.
While it was in Luka’s restaurant where I first experienced his Teta Ana’s sarma (cabbage rolls), it was actually in Ana’s kitchen where I learned to make the dish. By then, the house was owned by Ana’s granddaughter, Katrina, and while the kitchen had been remodeled several times, it remained large and inviting to accommodate an ever expanding family at Sunday dinners.
Luka’s introduction to Katrina meant an introduction to the entire family living in the vicinity and Sunday evening dinner meant Ana’s sarma. As I watched Katrina deftly prepared what seemed like an endless amount of cabbage rolls, I attempted to grasp both ingredients and methods. Of course, there was no recipe. This was a skill and dish passed from generation to generation by demonstration.
Once she had a table covered with cabbage rolls, the sauce was quickly prepared and the dish assembled. Layer upon layer of cabbage rolls were interspersed with sauce and sauerkraut in the largest roaster pan I could have ever imagined. It took both of us to load it into her massive oven. Then the waiting began. Hours upon hours of baking ensued.
Through the afternoon, cousin after cousin arrived with countless additional culinary contributions, and I realized Luka had created the perfect Croatian culinary experience. It was not simply about the food. It is so much more about the family.
The moment arrived. Tasked with removing the enormous roaster from the oven, two of Katrina’s male cousins turned the effort into somewhat of a production, apparently a common occurrence. I will admit. I was impressed with their ability to lift the roaster from the oven while not allowing so much as a drop of juice to spill over onto the floor.
Katrina quickly pushed everyone out of the kitchen save me. With a sly wink, she placed one of the rolls in a small dish, grabbed two forks and motioned for me to follow her into the pantry. Together we sampled the first sarma just as Ana had done with her when she was a child.
Sarma is a hearty dish perfect for a cold winter’s day. In recreating this dish, though, I wanted to achieve three things. First, mimic the flavor of the dish produced by Katrina; second, adapt everything to a much smaller scale; and third, make it such that could be enjoyed year round without feeling the heaviness of a plate full of cabbage rolls.
In this recipe, with the exception of exchanging the original white rice for wild rice, all the ingredients are traditional as presented for the filling with the result being the flavor of Katrina’s. The addition of the boiler onions gives a fantastic counter flavor to the sauerkraut tomato sauce.
The recipe has been scaled to the point it could serve as a hearty dinner for two or appetizers for four.
By creating miniature cabbage rolls and providing two as a serving along with one boiler onion, the dish does not carry the heaviness as when served as an entrée and provides a perfect introduction to a Croatian culinary Experience.
1 medium size head green cabbage
4 medium boiler onions
¾ pound ground sirloin
1 egg
¼ c chopped onion
½ c wild rice
½ t kosher salt
¼ t black pepper, freshly ground
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) jar sauerkraut
2 shallots, sliced thin