Stuffed Grape Leaves With Meat Food

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES (WITH MEAT)

Steps:

• In 1/3 cup hot oil in 12-inch skillet, saute onion and green onion, stirring until golden - 5 minutes. Add lamb; cook, stirring until lamb is no longer pink - 10 minutes. Add rice, nuts, dill salt, pepper and 3/4 cup water. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes, until water is absorbed.
• Remove from heat. Turn into bowl to cool 30 minutes before stuffing grape leaves. Meanwhile, separate grape leaves. Rinse well in cold water to wash away any brine. Dry well on paper towels. Use imperfect leaves for layering evenly in the bottom of the skillet.
• Lay leaves, shiny side down, on flat surface.Put 1 tablespoon lamb mixture in center of each leaf; fold sides over filling; roll up, starting from narrow end. Do not roll too tightly; rice needs room to expand. Fill skillet with closely fitted layers of stuffed leaves.
• Pour lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 cup cold water over them. Put heavy plat, upside down, on top to prevent leaves from unrolling. Bring to boiling; simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed - 30 minutes. Cool in skillet, if serving cold as an appetizer.
• With slotted utensil, lift out of liquid onto serving plate.
• If serving warm with egg-and-lemon sauce: In small saucepan over direct heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat; stir in 3 tablespoons flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt; mix until smooth.
• Stir in 1 can chicken broth and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Cook over low heat, stirring, until boiling. In small bowl, beat 4 egg yolks slightly; beat in small amount of hot mixture. Slowly return to pan, stirring until thick. Remove from heat. Makes 2 cups.

MEAT & RICE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a skillet, heat 2Tbsp of the olive oil over medium high heat and sauté the chopped onion and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the spices and let them sweat for a couple more minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the meat, the rice, the onion mixture and the parsley. Mix everything together with your hands until everything is incorporated. Reserve.
• Drain and rinse the grape leaves.
• Take the stems of every grape leaf and blanch them in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve.
• To roll the grape leaves, place a leaf with the vein side up on your work surface. Add one tablespoon of the filling mixture to the center of the leaf. Fold the edges in and up and roll the grape leaf until it looks like a cigar, tucking the edges under the roll. Proceed with the other leaves until you've run out of filling or leaves. (See blog post for step-by-step pictures!)
• Line a heavy bottomed pot with (unrolled) grape leaves. On top of that, add the onion rings.
• Proceed to arrange the stuffed grape leaves in rows, alternating the direction of each layer of rows.
• Fill the pot with the chicken broth (enough to cover the rolls) and the remaining olive oil.
• Place a plate on the top to prevent the rolls from floating.
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil.
• When it boils, lower the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes, until meat is cooked and rice is tender.
• Remove the rolls from the broth and serve warm or at room temperature.

MY OWN FAMOUS STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the rice, onion, dill, and mint for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Pour in 1 quart of broth, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until rice is almost cooked. Stir in 1/2 of lemon juice and remove from heat.
• Take one leaf, shiny side down, and place 1 teaspoon of the rice mixture at the bottom (stem) end of the leaf. Fold both sides of the leaf towards the center, roll up from the broad bottom to the top, and place into a 4-quart pot. Repeat with all leaves, leaving no gaps as leaves are placed in pot (to prevent from opening while cooking). Sprinkle with remaining lemon juice and with olive oil.
• Pour chicken broth over all to cover grape leaves. Cover pot and simmer for about 1 hour (do not boil, because this will make the stuffing burst out of the leaves). Remove from heat, remove cover and let cool for 1/2 hour. Transfer to serving dish and serve.

DOLMADES - AUTHENTIC GREEK STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES W/ MEAT (SOUTHER

Steps:

• Unroll grape leaves and place in a pot of boiling water. Reduce heat to medium and let boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, pour out hot water, and cover leaves with cold water. Let soak while preparing stuffing.
• Knead the rest of the ingredientes together. Spoon filling inside a leaf and roll like a burrito, sealing completely.
• In large pot, add olive oil to cover bottom or butter. Arrange rolled dolmades on top. Do this all at once, not as you roll them. Pour chicken broth over dolmades, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
• Serve with Greek yogurt and lemon wedges.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Put the onions and oil in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. While the onions cook, peel the garlic cloves and mash them to a paste in a mortar and pestle. Add this to the pan along with the tomato, lemon juice, tomato paste, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the rice. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dill. Set aside to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
• While this is cooling, drain the grape leaves and carefully pull them apart. Put them into a bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them soak until you are ready to roll.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place a grape leaf on your work surface, shiny side down. Add 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture to the middle of the grape leaf. Fold the sides over the rice and roll the leaf into a small log shape, about the size of George's thumb. Repeat with the remaining rice, placing the stuffed leaves into a 9 by 9-inch baking dish. When the dish is full, cover the stuffed leaves with several layers of flat grape leaves and pour in 1 cup of water. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate. Serve cool.

DOLMATHAKIA ME KIMA: STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH MEAT AND RICE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, and add the juice of 1/2 lemon and the salt. Carefully unroll the leaves (do not separate them). Turn off the heat and place the leaves in the hot water for 3 minutes.
• Remove the leaves and place them in a bowl and cover with cold water. When cooled, drain in a colander. It is not unusual for many of the outer leaves in the jar to be damaged or to tear while using. Set these aside to use later in the recipe.
• To prepare the filling, start by soaking the rice for 10 minutes in hot water and drain. (Alternatively, sauté the rice with the onion.)
• Sauté the onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until translucent, not browned.
• In a bowl, combine the onion, ground beef, rice, remaining olive oil, dill, mint, juice of 1 lemon, salt, and pepper. Mix well by hand.
• To fill and roll the leaves, gently separate one leaf and place it shiny-side down on a work surface. Place a heaping teaspoon (or more depending on the size of the leaf) of the filling on the leaf at the point where the stem joins the leaf.
• Fold up the bottom of the leaf over the filling, then each side inward in parallel folds, and roll up the leaf. The roll should be firm, not tight, as the filling will expand during cooking. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
• Because the leaves on the bottom can burn while the filling cooks, put a plate or wooden souvlaki skewers in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot (see tip below). The plate should fit snugly in the pot.
• If there are unused leaves or leaves that were torn and not used during the filling process, put them on the plate or on top of the skewers. Place the dolmathakia on top, packing them closely together (not squashed), seam side down, so they don't unroll during cooking. Layer them until all are in the pot (two to three layers are best, but no more than four layers). Place several unused leaves over the top.
• Take another plate and place it upside down on top of the dolmathakia, using something to weigh it down (a second plate works well). Add the 2 cups of water to the pot and cover. Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the remaining juice from the 1 1/2 lemons, reduce heat to low, and simmer for approximately 50 to 70 minutes. Check to see if done-if the rice has cooked, they are done. If not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes and check again. Cooking time depends both on the type of pot used and the particular stovetop heating element.
• If preferred, you can use a pressure cooker. No plates are needed but do use the skewers in the bottom. Pack the dolmathakia into the pressure cooker, add the 2 cups of water, close and cook for 15 to 20 minutes at the first pressure mark.

LEBANESE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, rice, garlic powder, allspice, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and set aside.
• Rinse grape leaves several times. If the leaves are small, leave them intact, but cut out the large center vein. If the leaves are large, cut them in half vertically, cutting out the large vein in the process. Place a small amount of the ground meat mixture at the end of each leaf. Roll up egg-roll style.
• Pour the oil into the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Lay the chops over the oil. Lay the tomato slices over the chops.
• Place the stuffed grape leaves seam-side down on top of the chops. Pack the leaves tightly and begin a second layer when necessary. Place whole garlic cloves randomly between the rolled leaves; plenty of garlic on each layer.
• When you are done stacking, pour the lemon juice over the leaves, and add water to the pot to about 2-inches above the rolled leaves. To prevent the leaves from unrolling during cooking, place a plate on top of the stack of leaves and place a heavy object on top of the plate.
• Simmer the leaves over low heat for about 2 hours.
• Invert the entire Dutch oven into a large platter with high sides (i.e. a 12-inch round cake pan). Or, remove the leaves from the pot with tongs. Serve rustic style, with plenty of Arabic bread on which to spread the garlic!

MEAT-STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH YOGURT SAUCE (ADAPTED FROM NANCY HARMON JENKINS THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• In a large saucepan of boiling water scald 36 grape leaves in batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove leaves, then plunge them into a bowl of ice-water. When cool enough to handle, cut off stems. Pat leaves dry and place shiny-side down on paper towels while you prepare filling.
• In a skillet, heat onion and oil over medium heat, stirring, until tender. Spoon onion and oil into a small bowl. In same skillet cook lamb, breaking apart clumps with a fork, until lamb is no longer pink. Pour lamb into a sieve to drain fat. In skillet combine lamb, onion and rice. Stir to coat rice with juices. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup of the stock and cook 10 minutes, or until rice has absorbed liquids. Stir in allspice, herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit 10 minutes.
• In center of grape leaf place 1 teaspoon of lamb mixture and fold sides over; roll up into a tight cylinder. Repeat with remaining leaves. In bottom of a large casserole, arrange 2 layers of stuffed leaves and sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour remaining broth over stuffed leaves to cover. (Add more water if necessary.) Top with a weighted heat-proof plate to submerge stuffed leaves. Bring casserole to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 35 minutes, or until rice is tender. Serve stuffed grape leaves hot with a spoonful of Yogurt sauce.
• Yogurt Sauce: In a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl let 1 1/2 cups yogurt drain overnight, refrigerated. Chop 2 garlic cloves with salt to taste until it forms a paste. In a small bowl, combine yogurt and garlic paste, stirring well to mix. Yield: About 1 cup.;

HOT STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH LAMB

Steps:

• Carefully separate the grape leaves, place in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Let the leaves soak for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse to remove excess salt. Drain the leaves, snip off the stems (reserving stems), and lay the leaves on a towel to dry.
• In a saucepan, bring 2 cups of salted water to a boil, and stir in the rice. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook rice until water is absorbed, about 17 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and saute until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute one more minute, until aromas are released. Add the lamb and cook until the meat is well browned, breaking it apart with a fork while cooking, about 15 minutes. Add the oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the feta and remove from the heat. Stir in the rice, parsley and mint.
• Place one leaf on a flat surface, vein side up, shiny side down. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of the leaf, near the stem edge. Fold the stem end over the filling, then fold both sides toward the middle, and form into a roll. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand to secure the roll. Repeat process with remaining leaves and filling.
• Line the bottom of a 3quart heavy saucepan with reserved stems, trimmings and any leftover or torn grape leaves, and arrange bundles seam sides down, packing them close together in layers.
• Combine the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil with 3/4 cup water, the sugar, and lemon juice, and pour over the stuffed grape leaves. Place a small, heatproof plate on top of the stuffed leaves, cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until leaves are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve warm, garnished with lemon slices and mint leaves.