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Pork and rice wrapped in pickled cabbage and slowly simmered with tomato and dill — Romania's national dish.
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Sarmale are cabbage rolls considered Romania's national dish, influenced by the Ottoman Empire. Ground pork and rice are wrapped in fermented sour cabbage leaves and simmered for hours with smoked pork, tomato, and dill. They're essential at every celebration — Christmas, weddings, christenings — and are eaten with sour cream and mămăligă (cornmeal porridge).
Separate the cabbage leaves one by one, blanch, and shave down the thick part of the rib.
Sauté the chopped onion in oil, cool, and mix with the ground pork, rinsed rice, paprika, half the dill, salt, and pepper.
Wrap the filling in the cabbage leaves, tucking in the ends as you roll.
Line a pot with half the sauerkraut and chopped bacon, pack in the sarmale snugly, and top with the remaining sauerkraut, bay leaf, and thyme.
Pour in water with tomato paste dissolved in it to just cover, cover, and simmer on low for 2½ hours (or in the oven).
Scatter with the remaining dill and serve with sour cream.