Sarmale (Romanian cabbage rolls)
Minced pork and rice in sour cabbage leaves, slow-cooked with smoked meat and served with mămăligă.
Well-cooked hot dish
Ingredients
- sour cabbage leaves
- minced pork
- rice
- onion
- smoked pork
- tomato
- dill
- thyme
- sour cream
How it is prepared
The rolls are packed into a clay pot with smoked meat and simmered for 3 hours.
Food safety with low immunity
- Minced meat and dishes made from it must always be fully cooked — including the middle.
- Avoid dry-cured or cold-smoked sausage and ham with low immunity, or heat them in the dish until steaming.
- Use only pasteurised milk, yoghurt, cream and cheese.
How to prepare it during treatment
The middle must be steaming hot. Use pasteurised sour cream, not market sour cream. Salty.
Your diet during treatment is agreed with your doctor. Sample 7-day menu for the treatment period →
Storage
Cool and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, and eat within 1–2 days. Divide large batches into small containers so they cool faster.
Reheating
Once, until steaming hot all the way through; in a microwave, stir halfway.
Symptoms it may suit
- Low appetite. Gives a lot of energy and protein in a small portion — can help when appetite is low.
- Weight loss. Energy-dense and easy to enrich (oil, cheese, yoghurt) — can help with weight loss.
- Taste changes. Aromatic spices, herbs or a little sourness can help when food tastes bland or metallic (if there are no mouth sores).
These are general observations: what suits you can change from day to day.
Treatment phases
- Before treatmentmay suit
- During a coursemay suit
- Low counts (neutropenia)Freshly cooked and hotmay suit
- Between coursesmay suit
- After treatmentmay suit
Phase notes are general. During low counts, follow only your care team’s food rules.
If you have other conditions
- High blood pressure, Heart disease, Kidney disease. Often salty (stock, salty cheese, sausage, pickles). With high blood pressure, heart or kidney disease, discuss salt limits with your team.
- Heart disease, Obesity, Liver disease, Stomach and gut. Can be fatty. With heart, liver or digestive disease, or excess weight, discuss fat content and portions with your team.
- Heart disease, High blood pressure, Kidney disease. Contains processed meat (sausage, bacon, ham). With heart disease, high blood pressure or kidney disease, discuss it with your team.
- Stomach and gut. Can be acidic from tomato, lemon or vinegar; keep this in mind with reflux, gastritis or mouth sores.
Nutrition (per 100 g)
Nutrition figures from a reliable source have not been added for this dish yet.
More from this cuisine
Related topics
Food safetyNeutropenic diet (low-microbial diet)PasteurisedCore cooking temperatureLeftoversCross-contamination
Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Safer Food Choices for People With Weakened Immune Systems
- FoodSafety.gov (U.S. HHS). Cook to a Safe Minimum Internal Temperature
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Food Safety for Older Adults and People with Cancer, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Organ Transplants, and Autoimmune Diseases
- Food Standards Agency (UK). Chilling
- World Health Organization (WHO). Five keys to safer food manual
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Food Safety During Cancer Treatment
- National Cancer Institute (NCI). Eating Hints: Before, during, and after Cancer Treatment
- BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 2019. Neutropenic diets to prevent cancer infections: updated systematic review and meta-analysis
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). FoodData Central — Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS)