Delicious one-pot sauerkraut with minced meat and rice
A delicious combination that enhances the sauerkraut in a special way, which you will love right away.
Baked sauerkraut with minced meat and rice
Course: Main, LunchCuisine: RomanianDifficulty: Medium12
servings1
hour1
hour10
minutes543
kcal2
hours10
minutesThis dish is a reinterpretation or rather a faster version of a traditional Romanian dish called “Varza a la Cluj”. Just like the original, which of course, like any traditional dish, can be found in different versions: with smoked meat, with onion or not, with tomato sauce or plain, it is certain that the basic ingredients are the same: sauerkraut, rice and minced meat . It is an economical and relatively quick meal with which you can feed a large family.
Ingredients
1,500 kg of sauerkraut
1,500 kg of minced pork
250 ml tomato sauce
200 g of rice (you can even add 300-350 g if you like more rice)
100 g leeks
200 g onion
200 ml cooking cream
80-100 ml of oil
dried thyme , to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
200 ml sauerkraut juice
400-500 ml water (more or less)
Directions
- The original version or the traditional preparation, the separate cooking of all the elements, even the rice, which is boiled separately. I chose to skip this step and let the rice cook in the oven along with the rest. Also, the use of cream for cooking is optional, I was inspired by an old Transylvanian family recipe and I really liked the idea
- I started by chopping the onion and leek. I chose a non-stick pan with high walls and put the onions and leeks in 50 ml of oil. When the vegetables softened and browned slightly without burning, I added the minced meat. I sauteed everything together until the meat was lightly browned and almost all the liquid was removed. Now is the moment when I add the rice, 1 half teaspoon of thyme, salt, pepper and about 4-5 tablespoons of tomato sauce. I mix everything well and pour the composition into a bowl that I leave aside.
- I chopped the sauerkraut and put it in the pan, using the same pan and the remaining oil. Depending on the quality of the cabbage, it will decrease more or less in volume. But, unlike fresh cabbage, sauerkraut shrinks much less when it is cooked. I roasted the cabbage for about 15 minutes, then added pepper, thyme and the rest of the tomato sauce.
- Believe it or not, we have finished preparing the components, now all that remains is to combine them. I chose a pot with enough room for both compositions and extra. I started by placing half of the cabbage on the bottom of the pot. On top of it, I added the mixture of meat and rice, followed by the rest of the cabbage. I poured the sauerkraut juice and about 350 ml of water. The liquid is necessary for cooking both the rice and the rest. I covered everything with liquid cream and put the pot in the oven for 50-60 minutes at 180 degrees.
- Serve the dish hot or warm, according to preference, with sour cream. It goes very well together with “mamaliga”, a simple polenta, in which corn flour is boiled in water and at the end a little butter is added for creaminess. This time, we served it with homemade bread made with corn flour and of course with hot peppers, which goes fabulously with sauerkraut.
