Grape Leaves, aka, My Most Favorite Food EVER

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

In our house, everyone likes grape leaves, even the kids! No, actually, we all love them. Better yet, WE DEVOUR A TRAY IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. We used to just wait to be invited by our Egyptian friends who make the tangy, thick, meat-less version. Then we were introduced to our Palestinian friends who make a thin, tiny, ground-lamb version and now we're in a sort of conundrum as to which we like better. I think its fair to say we  like  love both versions and will gladly clean off a tray of either type on any given day.WARNING: do not be intimidated by the long recipe, anything worth it takes a little work ;) Also, I firmly believe everyone should try making these AT LEAST once in their cooking lives!

Stuffed Grape Leaves - Shaami Style
1 jar of grape leaves, drained and rinsed
Rice and Meat Filling (below)
2 potatoes sliced into circles
2 tomatoes sliced into circles
1/2 - 1 can tomato paste
2+ cups water
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 tblsp lemon juice


1. Using a large slotted spoon, submerge leaves (2 or 3 at a time) into boiling water for about 30 - 45 seconds. Remove onto kitchen towel. This will help soften the leaves slightly before cooking.

2. In a heavy bottomed and large pot, layer bottom with sliced potatoes and tomatoes. Lamb chops/ribs or any other meat is another great option. This is primarily to keep the bottom layer of grapes leaves from sticking and also adds more flavor to the overall dish.

3. In a separate pot, add tomatoes paste (use 1/2 - 1 whole can depending on how big your pot of grape leaves is as this will be your cooking liquid, you need it to fill to the top of your pot), enough water to thin liquid, salt , pepper and lemon juice. Cook until dissolved and smooth, remove from heat.

4. Stuff and roll your grape leaves. Use very little (less than a tsp) in each leaf and be careful to wrap tightly so nothing unravels during the cooking process. (For step by step wrapping directions, look here). Layer grape leaves in packed and concentric circles. Carefully pour cooking liquid to the top of the pot. Some people place a small glass dish on top to hold down the leaves while cooking, or you can just place the lid and leave, checking in often to make sure all are submerged. Lower heat to medium low (there should be very few bubbles as this starts to cook). Depending on how many layers of grape leaves you have, this will take from 2 - 4 hours to cook. Long and slow cooking process ensures tender leaves and fully cooked rice inside. Be patient, it's worth it!


Filling
1 cup Egyptian or Sushi Rice (short and fat grains)
1 cup ground lamb (ground beef or combination of both works fine. Or leave it out all together)
1/3 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
squeeze of lemon juice or sprinkle of citric acid
salt and pepper to taste
3 garlic cloves, minced (more if you like stronger garlic taste)
2 tsp garam masala or Arabic Spice mix
1/8 tsp turmeric
1 cup olive oil
2 chicken bouillon cubes

1. Soak rice for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. Drain.

2. Warm olive oil on stove over medium heat and dissolve bullion cubes. Remove from heat.

3. To the rice, add meat, salt and pepper to taste, crushed garlic cloves, garam masala or Arabic spice mix (I added some more spices to my liking, feel free to do the same) parsley/cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil mixture and diced tomato. Mix thoroughly with your hands until everything is well combined (take your time here!). Set aside until ready to fill leaves.