Romanian Cabbage Rolls (Sarmale)

2 to 3 pounds ground pork (or whatever meat you prefer)
1/2 cup long grain rice (I prefer basmati)
1-2 onions
parsley
dill
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 liter tomato juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 large sour cabbage
16 slices of bacon

Chop the onions and fry them in the oil until tender. Add rice and cook for another minute. Add onion and rice mixture to ground port and add salt, pepper, dill and parsley and mix well with your hands. Now it’s time to assemble the rolls.

Remove all the cabbage leaves and cut each leaf in half. Romanian cabbage rolls are traditionally smaller than the Polish cabbage rolls, so that’s why I recommend cutting each leaf in half, otherwise you can use the entire leaf for one roll.

Fill each half leaf with a big tablespoon of the meat mixture and roll. Put all the rolls in a big pot and add the liter of tomato juice over the rolls. Add more water if needed, the juice should cover the rolls entirely. Cover the pot with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 4 hours.

After 2 hours remove the foil and put back in the oven. Serve hot with a bit of sour cream on top.