Nothing is more refreshing in the summer than not having to slave away next to the stove all day. The simpler the better, preferably with as little cooking as possible. Even better if one cooking session can result in multiple meals that can be stretched for 2-3 days. Today I’m sharing a simple, traditional, Balkan dish that is served with cold, tangy yogurt that is sure to make your life a little easier as you try to plan your menu for the week. Yes, it requires cooking, but you’ll cook once and if you’re lucky, eat twice (or even 3 times)!
Sarmice u Zelju is a traditional recipe very similar to Sarma. Instead of pickled cabbage leaves, these rolls are made with chard. I use swiss chard when I make them, but you can also use collard greens or any other wide-leaf chard that you enjoy. As I mentioned, I find swiss chard to work best for this recipe and the flavor is amazing – as close to the real variety used in the Balkans as possible. At least for me.
The filling is very simple – meat, rice, spices, vegetables, and a few eggs. Yes, that is what differentiates this recipe from Sarma. But if you’d prefer to use your Sarma filling recipe instead, you can do that as well. The chard gives this dish a distinctive, earthy, leafy green taste. As a food blogger, I’m not very good at describing flavor profiles am I? LOL
Don’t forget to serve these with yogurt or kiselo mleko – that is key here. They are always served alongside yogurt and it truly elevates this experience.
Looking for more entree-type dishes? Check out the main dish category here!
Do you follow me on Instagram? Make sure to check out my profile there where I have step by step reels for a lot of my dishes, including this one!
Sarmice u Zelju / Swiss Chard Rolls
Course: EntreeCuisine: Balkan, Serbian8
servings30
minutes40
minutesA traditional dish – swiss chard rolls stuffed with a mixture of meat, rice, and spices and topped with yogurt.
Ingredients
2 bunches swiss chard (about 20 leaves)
1 cup (g) white rice, cooked
1 lb (g) ground meat (half beef/half pork)
1 large onion, diced
2 eggs
2 tbsp (g) paprika (Aleva)
Vegeta seasoning, to taste
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste (biber)
Oil
Vinegar
- Also
Yogurt or kiselo mleko
Directions
- Swiss Chard Prep
- Place a large pot of water to boil and add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar to the water. While the water is coming to a boil, wash the swiss chard leaves very well and cut off the excess stem. Set aside.
- When the water has come to a boil, remove from the heat and then submerge a few swiss chard leaves at a time into the hot water. Leave them in for 5-10 seconds, essentially blanching them.
- Remove the softened swiss chard leaves from the hot water and if the stem is thick, use a knife to carefully thin out the stem to make the leaf rollable. Do this by shaving off some of the stem with your knife.
- Set aside while you prepare your filling. Also set aside 2-3 of the largest leaves separately. You will use these large ones to cover the rolls, see below.
- Filling
- In a large skillet, add your diced onion and a little bit of oil. When the onion has softened, add in the ground meat and cook until browned and the extra liquid has evaporated. Once the meat has cooked, add in the rice and turn off the heat. Stir to combine.
- Next, add in the seasonings, vegeta, salt, black pepper, and paprika. Stir well and adjust for taste. Lastly, add in the eggs and stir to combine everything together.
- Lay one leaf on a flat work surface, spoon some filling on the edge of the leaf closest to you, fold in the sides, and roll away from you. Transfer your completed roll to a very lightly greased baking dish.
- Continue preparing the rolls until all your filling has been used up. Fill the baking dish 1/3 of the way up with water and cover the sarmice with the 2-3 large leaves you set aside earlier.
- Bake at 375 F/ 190 C for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the stove, and remove and discard the large leaves covering the sarmice.
- Enjoy with a side of yogurt or kiselo mleko.
