TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN CUISINE www.bulgariatravel.org multimedia recipe SARMI (STUFFED CABBAGE/VINE LEAVES) Operative Program “Regional Development 2007-2013 www.bgregio.eu We invest in your future! The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget of Republic of Bulgaria Grant Scheme BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008 “Support for Effective National Marketing of Tourist Product and Improvement of Information Service”, Contract No BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008 /001-5 “Multimedia Catalogue of the Tourist Sites and Electronic Marketing of Destination Bulgaria” This multimedia brochure is created within the framework of the project “Multimedia Catalogue of the Tourist Sites and Electronic Marketing of Destination Bulgaria”, Contract No BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008/001-5, which is performed with the financial support of Operative Program “Regional Development” 2007 – 2013, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.The entire responsibility for the contents of this multimedia brochure is brought by the beneficiary – The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, and under no circumstances it can be considered that this multimedia brochure presents the official position of the European Union and the Managing Body. www.bulgariatravel.org SARMI (STUFFED CABBAGE VINE LEAVES) Sarmi are round or oblong balls made of vine or cabbage leaves with filling made of minced meat and rice. This is a dish which is also popular in other countries; in Bulgaria there are a lot of versions for its preparation. During the summer, sarmi with vine leaves are prepared, and during the winter they are made by sauerkraut. The filling can be made with minced meat, as well as without meat. Meatless sarmi are one of the dishes, present on the Bulgarian table on Christmas Eve. For this holiday they are prepared from sauerkraut leaves, and in the filling rice is mixed with raisins or walnuts instead of meat. In some regions, fine chopped bacon is added to the filling. Spices which season the filling are usually paprika, pepper, savory or cumin. 2 TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN CUISINE RECIPE SARMI NEEDED PRODUCTS Prepare 15 - 20 vine leaves or sauerkraut leaves. For the filling you need: 1 glass of rice, 400 g minced meat, 1 onion, sunflower oil, 1 tomato or tomato paste, spices - paprika, savory, pepper and salt according to your preferences. 3 www.bulgariatravel.org RECIPE 1. Heat up the frying pan with some olive oil or sunflower oil. 2. Stew the preliminarily chopped onion. 3. Add the minced meat, tear it into small pieces and continue stewing. 4 TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN CUISINE RECIPE SARMI 4. Season with the spices (salt, pepper, paprika). 5. Add the rice to the mixture. 6. Add tomato paste. 5 www.bulgariatravel.org 7. Stew the filling until you receive a semi-cooked mixture, by constant stirring. 8. Put some filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf. 9. Wrap well, so that the filling can not come out during baking. 6 TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN CUISINE RECIPE SARMI 10. Put the rest of the filling in a tray and arrange the wrapped cabbage leaves on top of it. 11. Pour some water on the wrapped cabbage leaves. 12. Bake for about an hour. 7 www.bulgariatravel.org RECIPE SARMI (STUFFED CABBAGE/VINE LEAVES) 8 TRADITIONAL BULGARIAN CUISINE RECIPE SARMI We wish you bon appetite and good times in the company of the traditional Bulgarian cuisine! www.bulgariatravel.org 9 Operative Program “Regional Development 2007-2013 www.bgregio.eu We invest in your future! The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget of Republic of Bulgaria Grant Scheme BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008 “Support for Effective National Marketing of Tourist Product and Improvement of Information Service”, Contract No BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008 /001-5 “Multimedia Catalogue of the Tourist Sites and Electronic Marketing of Destination Bulgaria” This multimedia brochure is created within the framework of the project “Multimedia Catalogue of the Tourist Sites and Electronic Marketing of Destination Bulgaria”, Contract No BG161PO001/3.3-01/2008/001-5, which is performed with the financial support of Operative Program “Regional Development” 2007 – 2013, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.The entire responsibility for the contents of this multimedia brochure is brought by the beneficiary – The Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, and under no circumstances it can be considered that this multimedia brochure presents the official position of the European Union and the Managing Body..