Stuffed Grape Leaves

At the dinner table a few weeks back, the conversation turned to vegetarian cooking and more, healthful items on the menu. Among the menu items discussed were stuffed grape leaves. I’ve never worked with grape leaves before but was eager to try them. I do love dolmades though I wouldn’t go so far to call what I made dolmades. I know that is a classical Greek recipe. Mine is more an ad hoc stuffed grape leaves recipe with items I had in my pantry – except for the grape leaves which I just bought from the store. Here it is, give it a try – remarkably delicious and healthy.

Half a jar of grape leaves in brine – rinsed and nubby stems removed (about 8 ounces)
1 cup rice – I used basmati rice
2 cups liquid — chicken or vegetable stock or water
1 onion, diced
1 long hot pepper (I always have hot peppers in the house, and although not something one thinks about when making stuffed grape leaves, it adds a nice flavor to the filling)
1/2 cup dried currants
2 tblsp chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic
Olive Oil
Salt, pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion and sauté until translucent
Add the garlic, stir; add the hot pepper, stir; add the rice – stir
Add 1 cup water, chicken stock or vegetable stock – stir – reduce heat to low, simmer covered
You want to partially cook the rice as it will continue to cook when you cook the grape leaves
Add the currants and chopped parsley – as always – taste, season and taste again – remember if your filling is good, everything else will also be good
Remove from the stove and let cool

Remove the grape leaves from the jar, rinse them under cold water, shake off excess water
Turn the leaves shiny side down – remove any stems attached to the leaves
If the veins in the leaves are thick, using a paring knife held parallel to the surface of your cutting board, shave the thick veins down – it’s a painstaking job, but will make the rolling of the leaves easier
Once the leaves are ready and stacked, take a few of the odd shaped or torn leaves and place them in the bottom of a heavy based sauce pan or frying pan

Using a full leaf, place it onto the work surface shiny side down – you can either do it with the pointy side at the top or closer to you at the bottom, I like the flatter side (where the stem attaches to the leaf) closer to me
Take a teaspoon of the rice filling, and place it in the lower part of the leaf
Fold/roll the end over the filling, fold in the left and right portions (like you do when you are making an egg roll) and roll up – leave room for expansion as the rice cooks -the nice thing about these grape leaves is they can be patched if the leaf is torn, just use another piece of a leaf to cover the tear and roll up like normal
Place the rolled up leaf seam side down, in a heavy bottomed saucepan or frying pan (depending on how many you are making)
Continue this process until all the leaves are stuffed and placed side by side in the pot
Add the remaining liquid until the stuffed leaves are half covered – cover and put on a low fire until most of the liquid is absorbed – about 10 minutes.  Note:  I had extra rice so I just spread it on top of the stuffed leaves and cooked it.  It was just an added treat – no point wasting it!

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice just before serving.
They can be served warm or at room temperature as an hors d’ oeuvres, appetizer or side (I served mine with baked salmon).