Vegetarian Sarmale

My friend Jamie and her boyfriend came to Atlanta for a visit and I just had to make them something Romanian to snack on. I instantly knew that I wanted to make sarmale, but they're vegetarian. So I made vegetarian sarmale. Here's what I did.

3 grated carrots

1 large onion finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped kalamata olives
1 lb finely chopped mushrooms
1 cup uncooked rice
V8 or vegetable juice
1 cup lemon juice
3 tbs dill
1 tbs vegeta
1 jar grape leaves
1/4 cup olive oil

All the ingredients together with the exception of grape leaves, vegetable juice, and lemon juice. Put the grape leaf in one palm and scoop about 2 tbs of the mixture and roll  into the grape leaf. Place in a crock pot. Repeat until you use all the of them mixture. Add the bottle of vegetable juice and lemon juice. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Sarmale

Tomorrow is my team's Christmas potluck. I'm making these and cornuletei. I made extra for to have at home. John has never had them. And--he loved them too! Yay! This is one my favorite Romanian dishes ever! You can make these with grape leaves or cabbage. I prefer cabbage, but you can buy grape leaves at the store so it's easier. Here is my recipe. This is not the only way to do this. I tweaked it for me.

Sarmale

Sautee in EVOO:

1 large chopped onion

1 grated carrot

3 grated radishes

1 finely chopped celery stalk

3 Tbs fresh dill

1 handful freshly chopped parsley

1 cup long grain rice

Mix together:

1/2 ground turkey

1/2 lean ground beef

Sautee mixture

2 eggs

2 Tbs salt

2 Tbs paprika

Roll in about 1 Tbs meat mixture in grape leaves or cabbage, tucking in the ends. Place in either a crock pot or dutch oven with 1 Tbs lemon juice. Fill dutch oven.

Mix:

1 can beer

2 cups tomato juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

Pour over grape sarmale.

If using a dutch oven, preheat oven to 350. Cover and cook for about 3-4 hours. Uncover and turn down the oven to 250. Cook for another 2 hours.

If using a slow cooker, cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve with salt, sour cream, and even a slice of bread.