Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Stuffed Grapeleaves...yum!

If you don't have fresh leaves, you can find them in jars in specialty foodstores.



40-50 grapevine leaves

1 cup rice (washed and drained)

1/2 lb. beef or lamb (ground)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. butter

juice of one lemon

water



If using leaves from a jar, soak them in cold water for 1 hour, changing water frequently. This will remove the salt. If you're using fresh, let stand in hot water for 10 minutes to soften a bit.



Combine all the ingredients except grapeleaves, lemon juice, and water in a mixing bowl. Place 1 teaspoon (or more, depending upon the size of the leaves) of the meat mixture in a thin row across the width of the leaf with the stemmed end closest to you and the shiny side of the leaf facing down. Fold the outside edges of the leaf 1/2 inch toward the center and roll with a some firmness into the shape of a finger. Place in saucepan, alternating the direction of each layer.



When all leaves are rolled, sprinkle with lemon juice. Add enough water to just below top level of rolls. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes until leaves are tender.



You can serve these with yogurt and Tabouli.


3 comments:

Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake said...

I love dolma, but they must be homemade. The canned ones are appalling.

Nicole said...

Hey! Those look really good! And all the ingredients are to my liking. I need to show this recipe to Lorne so we can try it out sometime soon!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting the recipe. My husband loves those :)