LEAN VINE LEAVES SARMA WITH RICE, CARROTS AND ONIONS

When I have vine leaves, I always prepare sarma with minced meat and rice. Lately, I've replaced meat with vegetables and I find this type of sarma lighter and more digestive. I love it! I experimented a bit and made them with rice, onions and carrots. This time I baked sarma in the oven in 3 small earthenware pots. Roux is optional as well as other toppings such as bechamel sauce, cooking cream etc. Here I added a little cooking cream.


Ingredients:

•     about 50 vine leaves (depending on your baking pan size)
•     300 g rice
•     2 larger carrots
•     2 peppers
•     2 larger heads of onions
•     a little oil and water as needed
•     1 flat tbs Vegeta
•     black pepper
•     1 flat tbs red paprika
•     about 100 ml tomato paste if you have

Preparation:

1.    Since I use frozen leaves, when I defrost them, they soften and there's no need to boil them. If leaves are fresh, then, boil them slightly, about 5 minutes so they soften.
2.   Chop the onions, peppers and carrots, I used a food chopper. Put them on fire with some oil. Stir and fry shortly, then add the rice. Leave to fry with constant stirring until the veggies soften.
3.     Add vegeta, black pepper and red paprika. Add tomato paste in the filling if you have.
4.     Put 1 tbs of this mixture in each leaf, roll the sarma and arrange in the casserole.
5.     Add water to cover and put to bake covered with an aluminum foil in a heated oven at 200 C degrees, 30-40 minutes.
6.     You can stop here and consume them as they are. You can add tomato sauce and continue baking for 10 more minutes. Or you can add bechamel sauce or cooking cream, and continue baking for 10 more minutes.

   Sarma with tomato sauce plus cooking cream