Sarma with mashed potatoes – sour cabbage rolls stuffed with minced meat

Nothing can quite conjure the image of sarma like the lyrics of the band Hladno pivo: Out of all food, I like sarma the most, no other grub can come close. Minced meat that is rolled tight, in leaves of cabbage, it's a delight. ... As long as it's cold outside, sarma will keep you warm.

Ingredients for 8-10 persons:

For sour cabbage rolls:
1 head of sour cabbage
700g                      minced pork
300g                      minced beef
300 g of Kaiserfleisch (fresh pork ribs)
200 g                     smoked bacon
150 g                     rice
2 onions
3 cloves garlic
1 egg
2-3 bay leaves

For mashed potatoes:
1 kg yellow potatoes
4 cloves garlic
120 ml of milk
60 g butter

Also:
Salt and ground black pepper

Preparation:
Mix minced beef and pork in a suitable bowl, add chopped onions, chopped bacon, rice, chopped parsley, one egg, season with salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients by hand well. Separate the cabbage leaves and use a knife to thin out the hard central part so they can be folded more easily. Stuff the leaves with the meat mixture and push the ends in so the sarmas do not open during cooking. Slice the remaining cabbage leaves into strips. Arrange a portion of the sliced cabbage on the bottom of the pot. Place some of the sarmas on top, then another layer of sliced cabbage and then the remaining sarmas. Finally, add Kaiserfleisch (fresh pork ribs) and pour in enough water to cover the ingredients. Add cloves of garlic and bay leaves. Cover when it boils and cook over a medium flame for an hour and a half. Just before the sarmas are done cooking, peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and place in a pot. Add cloves of garlic, salt and water. When it boils, cook over a medium flame for about 30 minutes. Then, drain the boiled potatoes and add milk and butter to the pot. When the butter melts, return the potatoes, salt to taste and make the mashed potatoes. Set the sarmas on plates with the mashed potatoes and serve hot.