Chicken And Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves Recipes

BROWN RICE-STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until translucent. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add mixture to a large bowl, along with cooked rice, parsley, mint, lemon zest, currants, and pine nuts; stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bowl; stir to combine and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place one grape leaf on work surface, vein-side up. Place 1 heaping tablespoon rice mixture in the center of grape leaf. Roll leaf from bottom up, folding in sides to form a 2-inch log. Place seam side down in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Repeat process with remaining grape leaves and rice mixture.
• In a large bowl, mix together chicken broth, remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil; pour over grape leaves. Top grape leaves with lemon slices. Place a second 9-by-13-inch baking dish on top of grape leaves and lemon slices and fill halfway with water to weight down. Carefully transfer to oven and bake until grape leaves are tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Serve immediately.

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.

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.

LAMB AND RICE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Place ground lamb, rice, 1/4 cups olive oil, mint, currants, pine nuts, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, and egg in a bowl. Mix together thoroughly with a fork. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Gently unroll and separate grape leaves. Rinse in cold water to remove brine. Drain. Reserve broken or less-than-perfect leaves to line pot.
• Place grape leaves on work surface with smooth side down (ribs of leaves up). Place a rounded tablespoon of lamb-rice filling near bottom-center of grape leaf. Fold bottom sections of leaf over mixture, fold over sides, and roll toward the top of the leaf into a firm cylinder. Don't roll too tightly or leaves may burst when rice cooks.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into pot; line bottom of pot with 1 or 2 layers of reserved grape leaves. Place dolmas in pot by arranging them along the sides, then working toward the center to cover the bottom. Leave enough space between dolmas to allow for expansion, but close enough to hold their shapes when cooking. If necessary, stack another layer on top of the first so they all fit. Pour in lemon juice and 2 teaspoons olive oil.
• Invert a small plate and then a larger plate over the dolmas to weigh them down while they cook and prevent them from shifting. Pour in hot chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat. As soon as liquid is heated through and starting to bubble (2 to 4 minutes), reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and cook 35 minutes. Remove plates and check for doneness. Dolmas should look a bit puffed up, and a fork should pierce them easily. If not quite done, continue cooking without the weights: cover the pot and simmer until rice is tender, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
• Serve warm or chilled. Garnish with curls of lemon zest, if desired.

CHICKEN-AND-RICE-STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Spoon 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a 2-quart nonstick saucepan and place over moderate heat.
• Add the onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and allspice and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the rice, toss, and cook until lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour in 1 cup of the broth and the white wine and bring to a boil.
• Lower the heat, cover, and simmer over low heat until the broth is absorbed, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, cover tightly, and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Uncover, turn out into a large bowl, and let cool to room temperature.
• When the rice is cool, crumble in the ground chicken.
• Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the scallions, mint, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper.
• Mix thoroughly with your hands to combine.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly oil 2 shallow casseroles or baking dishes (approximately 12x18 inches.) Separate the grape leaves and arrange them in a stack.
• Working with 1 leaf at a time, place a leaf, shiny side down, in front of you.
• Shape 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling into a log and place it across the lower third of the leaf.
• Fold up the bottom of the leaf over the filling, then fold in the sides and firmly roll up.
• As they are assembled, place the stuffed leaves, seam side down, close together in a single layer in the prepared casseroles.
• Continue stuffing the grape leaves.
• Pour 1 1/2 cups chicken stock over each casserole to almost cover the leaves.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the remaining lemon juice over each pan; cover tightly with foil.
• Bake for about 50 minutes, until heated through and tender.
• Let cool to room temperature.
• When cool, arrange the stuffed grape leaves in a deeper pan (a bread pan or some other deep container), making several layers.
• As you build up the layers, drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil.
• Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or up to 2 days.
• Serve cold with more lemon, if desired.

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.