Cabbage Rolls with Tomato and Sumac Sauce (Lahana Sarması)

This recipe introduces a lighter Turkish version of cabbage rolls served in a rich and complex sauce. {Gluten-Free}

Sometimes it amazes me how different cultures meet at a crossroads, like these beautiful cabbage rolls. They are called Sarmale in Romanian, Dolmades in Greek, Lahana Sarması in Turkish, Gołąbki in Polish, ロールキャベツin Japanese, and 圆白菜肉卷 in Chinese. Of course, each version is slightly different from the others. But the thing they have in common is that they are all comfort dishes that remind people of home gatherings.

Today I’ll be sharing the Turkish version, a recipe I learned from Istanbul & Beyond – Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey, a beautiful cookbook about Turkish regional cuisine by Robyn Eckhardt and photographed by David Hagerman. At the bottom of the post, you will also find a giveaway for a chance to win one of two copies of this beautiful cookbook.

Backstory

I firstly met Robyn and David back in 2016, when they hosted a photography and writing workshop in Cambodia. Robyn, the blogger behind the award-winning blog Eating Asia, is a well-known travel writer whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and Food & Wine. David is a famous travel photographer who shoots for Saveur and The New York Times. They are both American but travel around the world all the time to document the world’s people, cultures, and cuisines.

During the workshop, I learned of how they traveled to Turkey, fell in love with the place, and decided to write a book about Turkish cuisine.

To accomplish this project, Robyn and David traveled over 21,000 kilometers on the back roads of Turkey, documenting its regional cuisines. And they have been collecting recipes from locals over the past twenty years.

If your understanding of Turkish food is limited to kebabs and baklava, this cookbook will totally blow your mind. You will find some well-known comfort dishes such as cabbage rolls, beef kofta, egg salad, and flatbread. You will also find some very intriguing dishes such as fava & bulgur stuffed grape leaves in tomato sauce and meatballs with pumpkin & spice butter.

Cabbage rolls, Turkish style

Fast forward to 2017, when I met Robyn and David again in LA at their book signing event. Melissa’s Produce hosted us and catered our lunch using recipes from the book. I was so hooked on the cabbage rolls that I had to make them, first thing after coming home.

Here are a few highlights of this recipe:

• The filling is on the lighter side. It uses a nice combination of meat, rice, and vegetables to make a great tasting cabbage roll that’s not greasy.
• The cabbage rolls are bursting with flavor. Plenty of parsley, mint, red pepper paste, and chili peppers are added to make a rich flavor that is good enough to serve without the sauce.
• The tomato sauce is infused with sumac, which makes the sauce complex and rich, with very little effort.

These are some of the best cabbage rolls I’ve ever tasted. They made me think of Chinese meatballs, which contain a lot of vegetables and some carbs to make the texture light and delightful. My husband loved the dish just as much as I did, and he complimented the sauce a couple times as we were eating.

Yes, this is a dish that takes quite some time and effort to make, but you’ll find the results extremely rewarding. Please do make a full batch. They freeze well and the leftovers taste even better.

Giveaway

Today I’m excited to give away two copies of Istanbul & Beyond – Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey, so you will have a chance to flip through this beautiful book and try out the delicious recipes in your own kitchen.

How to enter:
Ticket 1 (required): Leave a comment at the bottom of this post sharing the city you live in, and your experience with Turkish food (if you have any). Next year Robyn and David will be doing a book tour again and might visit your town!

Ticket 2 (bonus): Follow @istanbulandbeyond on Instagram, and leave a separate comment below this post with your “Instagram handle”.

Ticket 3 (bonus): Like this post on Instagram, tag a friend, and leave a separate comment below this post with “your Instagram handle” and “ticket three”.

Giveaway rules

• This giveaway will open on November 19th (Sunday) and will close on November 27th at 11:59 pm CST.
• This giveaway is open to US residents.
• Two winners will be selected via Random.org and contacted via email so please include a valid email address in the email address entry box (Your email address won’t appear on the website).
• The winner is required to respond within 48 hours to claim the prize.
• Good luck and I hope you win! 🙂

More winter comfort dishes

Mom’s Best Braised Pork Ribs
One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetables
Chinese Lion’s Head Pork Meatballs
Addictive Kimchi Pork Steamed Bun
Napa Cabbage Soup with Meatballs

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.

The recipe is from Istanbul & Beyond – Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey by Robyn Eckhardt and photographed by David Hagerman, with small edits and notes based on my own cooking experience.

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Cabbage Rolls with Tomato and Sumac Sauce (Lahana Sarması)

4.50 from 4 votes

This recipe introduces a lighter Turkish version of cabbage rolls served in a rich and complex sauce. {Gluten-Free}

Author: Maggie Zhu

Course: Main

Cuisine: Turkish

Keyword: home style

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 35 to 40 cabbage rolls

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Ingredients

• 1 to 2 heads green cabbage (*Footnote 1)

Filling

• 1 cup short or medium grain rice
• 8 oz (226 g) ground beef (or lamb)
• 1 small onion , minced (yield 1/2 cup)
• 5 cloves garlic , minced
• 3/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley , minced
• 1/2 can (14.5 oz/411 g) tomatoes , diced (*Footnote 2)
• 2 tablespoons sweet or hot Turkish red pepper paste (Optional) (*Footnote 3)
• 3 mild or hot chiles such as cayenne, Holland, or jalapeno, halved lengthwise, seeded, and minced
• 2 tablespoon minced mint (*Footnote 4)
• 1 tablespoon Turkish or other crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

• 1/4 cup ground sumac
• 2 cups hot water
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

• Add rice to a medium bowl and water to cover. Swish and gently rub with your fingers to rinse the rice. Drain off water and repeat two to three times. Drain and set aside.
• To make the sumac water for the sauce: add ground sumac to a small bowl and pour 2 cups hot water over it. Stir and set aside to infuse.
• Prepare cabbage
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. (*Footnote 5) Add the salt. Cut a 1/2" (1 cm) deep X in the stem end of the cabbage and add it to the water. If using two cabbages, cook them one at a time. Bring the water back to a boil, partially cover the pot, and cook the cabbage until a knife inserted to its core meets no resistance, 12 to 15 minutes. Flip the cabbage 1 to 2 times if it’s not fully submerged in the water. Do not let the cabbage cook so long that it becomes mushy.
• Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by adding ice and water to a large bowl.
• When the cabbage is cooked, plunge it into the cold water. When it’s cool enough to handle, remove it from the water, core it using a paring knife, and carefully separate the leaves, stacking them on a plate. Line the bottom of a wide 3-quart lidded pot with a layer of small and/or torn leaves. Set aside.
• Make filling
• Place the drained rice in a large bowl. Add the ground meat, onion, garlic, parsley, grated tomato, pepper taste, and chilies. Gently mix with your hands or a fork until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix. Sprinkle over the mint, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Mix again.
• Assemble
• Place a cabbage leaf on your work surface with the interior of the leaf facing up and the bottom of the leaf toward you. Use a sharp knife to cut out the thick stem and discard it. If the leaf is too big, slice it into two pieces so it’s easy to wrap. Place about a tablespoon of filling at the tip of the V and shape it into a log, leaving at least an inch between it and the edges of the leaf. Fold the left and right edges of the leaf over the filling, then fold the bottom flaps of the leaf up and over, and roll it away from you to make a parcel. Don’t roll the leaf too tightly--leave room for the rice to expand during cooking.
• Place the cabbage roll seam-side-down in the pot and repeat until the filling is used up. Lay the rolls side by side, close together but not snug. Make two layers if necessary.
• Make the sauce
• Line a sieve with cheesecloth or a damp large paper coffee filter, and set it over a quart measuring cup or a medium bowl. Pour in the sumac water. Gather the cheesecloth around the ground sumac and squeeze it to release as much liquid as possible. Discard the sumac.
• Pour 1 cup of the sumac water into a small bowl; add water if necessary, to make 1 cup total. (*Footnote 6)
• Mix in the tomato paste, olive oil, and salt. Stir to mix well. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls.
• Heat the pot over high heat and bring the sauce to a boil.
• Lay a piece of parchment paper over the rolls and a heatproof plate on top of the paper, to keep the rolls under the sauce.
• Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Check after 15 minutes (use tongs to lift the plate and paper) to make sure that there is still liquid in the pot. Add 1/2 cup sumac water or plain water if the bottom is nearly dry. You want to end up with just enough reduced sauce to slightly coat the cabbage rolls.
• Let the cabbage rolls rest, covered, for at least 10 minutes.
• Serve hot or warm.
• Store the remaining rolls in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The leftovers will taste even better.

Notes

1. I highly recommend you use two cabbages, so you will have enough cabbage leaves to wrap the filling.
2. The original recipe used 1 medium tomato, halved crosswise and grated. I replaced it with canned tomato because fresh ones are out of season right now and canned tomato can yield better flavor.
3. You can find the Turkish red pepper paste in a Middle Eastern grocery store. I highly recommend it. Alternatively you can use 1 teaspoon harissa paste (or less) to replace it.
4. The original recipe uses 1 tablespoon fresh mint plus 1 teaspoon dried mint.
5. The pot should fit the cabbage. However I found it is OK if the cabbage won’t fully submerge in the water.
6. The original recipe suggested using 1 3/4 cup sumac water. I reduced the liquid because I was using a dutch oven and the sauce would not thicken enough if I used too much liquid. I suggest you start with 1 cup sumac water, then add more during cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 40kcal, Carbohydrates: 4.4g, Protein: 2.2g, Fat: 1.5g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 76mg, Fiber: 0.3g, Sugar: 0.3g

Did You Make This Recipe?Don't forget the last step! Leave a comment below, and tag me @OmnivoresCookbook and #OmnivoresCookbook on Instagram!