Grape Leaves Stuffed With Lamb And Rice Sausage Recipes

LAMB-STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Wash and soak the rice in hot water for 30 minutes.
• Place the rice, lamb, beef, coriander, garlic, lemon salt, olive oil, allspice, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons salt in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly by hand.
• Place a grape leaf on a cutting board. Place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of the leaf. Fold over the sides and roll tightly from bottom to top. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
• Place the tomatoes evenly in the bottom of a stockpot. Place the rolled leaves in the pot, pointing towards the center of pot. Place a small plate with a weight on top of the grape leaves to hold them in place. Add 1 cup water to the pot and heat over medium heat. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Serve the stuffed grape leaves with lemon wedges.

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.

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.

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.

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.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH MERGUEZ SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Prepare leaves:
• Unfurl stacks of grape leaves into a large bowl of water (leaves should remain stacked) and gently agitate without separating leaves. Blanch stacks in batches in a large saucepan of boiling water 3 minutes. Transfer stacks to a colander and refresh under cold running water.
• Make filling:
• Finely grate zest from lemons and squeeze 1/2 cup juice.
• Bring water with salt to a boil in a large saucepan and stir in rice. Cook rice, covered, over moderately low heat until water is absorbed, 17 to 20 minutes, and transfer rice to a large bowl.
• Remove sausage from casings and cook in a large nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring to break up lumps, until no longer pink. Cool to room temperature and crumble into 1/4-inch pieces.
• Cook onion with 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until soft but not browned and stir into rice with zest, 1/4 cup lemon juice, sausage, nuts, dill, parsley, currants, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill and roll grape leaves:
• Arrange 1 grape leaf, smooth side down, on a kitchen towel. Trim stem flush with leaf (if leaf is extra large, trim to about 5 1/2 inches wide), saving any trimmings. Spoon 1 tablespoon filling onto leaf near stem end and tightly roll up filling in leaf, folding in sides and squeezing roll to pack filling. (Roll should be about 3 1/2 inches long.) Make more rolls using remaining filling in same manner.
• Cook grape leaves:
• Heat broth just to a simmer and keep warm, covered. Line bottom of a large heavy pot with leaf trimmings and any remaining whole leaves and arrange rolls, seam sides down, close together in layers over leaves, seasoning each layer with salt. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons oil and remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice and cover with an inverted heatproof plate slightly smaller than pan, pressing down gently.
• Add just enough broth to reach rim of plate and bring to a boil. Cook rolls at a bare simmer, covered with plate and lid, 50 minutes (stuffed leaves should be tender, but filling should not be mushy). Remove from heat and transfer rolls with tongs to large trays to cool, brushing with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cool.

GRAPE LEAVES STUFFED WITH LAMB AND RICE SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Working in batches according to the size of your space, lay the grape leaves, smooth side down and with the stem end facing you, on a work surface, and trim off the stems with a sharp paring knife or scissors. Place about 1 tablespoon of the stuffing in the center of each leaf. Fold each side of the bottom up over the stuffing, roll up the leaf a half turn, and then fold the sides in toward the center. Continue rolling to the top to make a tight, neat cylinder. Pack the rolled leaves in a large pot, tucking them together to make a tight layer, or two, depending on the size of the pot. It's okay to have two layers, as long as they are tightly packed.
• Place a plate that will fit inside the pot over the leaves to keep them from floating up, and pour in water just to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover the pot, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, still covered, until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Pour off the water, pressing down on the plate to drain thoroughly and keep the leaf packets intact. Set the pot aside until the packets are completely cool. Carefully transfer the leaf packets to a platter, cover, and chill, preferably overnight, to firm and intensify the flavor.
• To serve, arrange the lemon slices across the top and pour the olive oil over all. Serve chilled or at room temperature.