Stuffed Grape Leaves

Yesterday was a Greek cooking day. I made several things but today I am just posting one recipe because it is rather long. I will post the others tomorrow. If you have never tried stuffed grape leaves you are really missing out on a very good treat. Don't get all weirded out because they are grape leaves. People eat stuffed cabbage so why not grape leaves? You can use fresh grape leaves when they first leaf out in late spring but you can also buy them brined in jars like the one above.


Lay them out in a bowl and pour boiling water over them and let them sit for about 15 minutes.


Use 1 # of ground lamb.


Dice a large onion and a couple shallots.


Add them to the ground lamb.


Add a cup of long grain raw rice and some salt and pepper. The add some toasted cumin, oregano and thyme.




I also add fresh diced dill.


Mix this all together.


Take one grape leaf and lay it shiny side down.


Cut the thick stem part off of the leaf.


Place a heaping teaspoon of the meat mixture in the middle of the leaf.


Oops....Blog Tech made a mistake. This is sideways. You should wrap the lower right part of the leaf across the meat.


The fold the left side over the top.


Then starting at the bottom you roll it until it looks like this. These should be packed very tightly together on a heavy pot. Cover the grape leaves by about an inch with chicken stock. Put a dish on top and weight it down. The put the lid on the pot and bring it to a simmer and simmer for about 30-40 minutes.


While they are cooking, juice about 3 lemons and mix it with a half cup of olive oil. When the grape leaves are done cooking, pour the oil and lemon mixture over them and sprinkle with freshly diced dill.


These can be eaten either hot or cold. I like them cold. These make good appetizers too.


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Comments

brandi said…
~my husband and i have a l♥ve affair with greek food and dolmas are amongst our favorite treat...we served greek food for our wedding...yyuummmmyy...there is nothing quite like the flavors of such little tasties! brightest blessings~
magikalseasons said…
I just made these with my greek mother-in-law. I think I'll try your version next time. :) Yum
Bitsa Lit said…
yummy! these are one of my favs!
I ahvent tried dill... but I am going to next time... I bet they would be great with tziki (i dont know how to spell it)...
Anonymous said…
I love stuffed grape leaves. I've only had them vegetarian though...this is an interesting recipe. I don't like lamb, am wondering if beef could be substituted? Or even ground chicken or turkey?
YUM. I love stuffed grape leaves- yours look delicious!
Bridgett said…
I love Greek food, but have nevr had this particular dish. Looks AMAZING.

BTW, I got your card in the mail last night!! Yay!

It's even prettier in life than in the picture. Only one thing had fallen off, so I'm going to glue it back on today and hopefully get some pictures.

Thank you SO MUCH, Joyce. :)
EITHER a Ukrainian snuck down to Greece and taught them how to make cabbage rolls with grape leaves OR a Greek snuck up to the Ukraine and taught them how to make dolmas with cabbage leaves!
Mama Feoneafey said…
Those dolmas look so yummy ! I just ate and my tummy started grumbling the minute I started reading your post..LOL... I think the hubby needs to make a run to the store so I can try your recipe..thank you so much for sharing it!
Guillaume said…
I love stuffed vine leaves, but never tried them with lamb. Strange, you seem in a Greek mood too.
I am hungry, so hungry right now, trying to cut down on my eating. These stuffed grape leaves look and sound delicious.

I've never eaten lamb, but I will try it.

Thanks for sharing and happy, happy Spring Day.

Love to Teddy!
That tastes soo good :-) But I do prefere stuffed cabbage. One of my favourite dinners and I try to have it as often as I can :-)
Have a great day now!
Christer.
I Wonder Wye said…
OMGoddess this is making my mouth water! Thanks for the step-by-step. I love your 'witch' garden sign, as I am a member of 'the witches of wye'
Stopping over from SITS
Stuff grape leaves are my favorite thing to make as appetizers. I too love them at room temp. Next time I make them I'll use your recipe. It looks fabulous.
greekwitch said…
I have never tried to make them. It always seems like a lot of work. But since these days i am looking for healthy choices i will give them a shot. You made it sound so easy. You always do. It is the way you write and present your recipes. Whenever my mom cooks i am never interested to learn a few things. But with you, i can't wait for your recipes. You should write a book. You make cooking easy.
Sharlene T. said…
Oh, yummy! Definitely a keeper recipe. I could taste it as you described them. Thanks for sharing.
Tristan Robin said…
I have always loved stuffed grape leaves - and they were amazing in Greece!

But, I've never tried to make them. And seeing all the work that goes into them, I still won't. But I'll appreciate the next ones I have even more!
Soraya said…
Mmmmmmm I like me some Stuffed Grape Leaves :) I had some the other night... Went to a Lebanese Restaurant. Was alot of fun :)
Balisha said…
Hi,
Thanks for reading my blog and leaving a message today.I've had these before and I loved them.We were on a cruise of the Greek Islands, years ago, and we stopped at small restaurants to sample Greek food.I like the way you post your recipes...very nice pictures. You make me want to try them all.
Thanks again,
Balisha
Nice looking. We do similar thing with banana leaf.. ~bangchik
Suzie said…
This must be Kismet. A Greek restaurant just opened in the area. The first one ever! And now a small grocery store featuring Greek foods has opened too. And now I have a recipe to fix! Perfect!