Rice Recipes

•Free •Easy •Tasty Recipes from the Middle-East

Stuffed Vine Leaves with Rice.

This Turkish recipe is so special in terms of taste, as well
as appearance. Stuffed vine leaves are very popular in
Middle Eastern restaurants and at home. Use as an
appetizer, as part of a spread or as a side dish.


Ingredients:
 
  60 vine leaves, preferably fresh. Use preserved vine leaves
       if you must   
  2 cups white rice
  2 onions, chopped
  2 garlic cloves, chopped
  4 Tbsp olive oil
  1 Tsp sea-salt
  ½ Tsp ground black pepper
  ½ Tsp ground nutmeg
  ½ cup pine nuts
 


Directions:

  1. Heat olive oil in a pan, add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute
      and turn off the fire.

  2. Rinse the rice in a colander, put in a bowl and mix with onion,
     garlic and the other ingredients.

  3. Place the vine leaves in a wide dish. Pour boiling water over them. Let them sit in the water for  
       2-3 minutes and then strain in a colander.

  4.  Take a large pot and line it up with a few leaves.

  5.  Stuffing the vine leaves:
         
          a- Place a leaf on a plate with shiny side down.
          b- Place 1 tsp filling on the leaf.
          c- Fold 2 sides of leaf on top of the filling and roll the leaf from the base to its edge.
          d- Do not roll too tightly since rice will swell while cooking.

  6.  Do the same thing with the other vine leaves, and put them gently in the vine leaf lined pot,
      with the folded part facing upward.

  7. Sprinkle some olive oil on the stuffed leaves cover them with a flat plate so they don’t float.

  8.  Add 3 cups boiling water and bring the pot to a boil again.

  9.  Cover  the pot with lid cover it with towel  and simmer on a very low fire for 50 minutes

        Bon appetite!