VINE LEAF ROLLS WITH OLIVE OIL: A MODEST SENSATION OF FLAVOUR

FULL RECIPE FOR VINE LEAF ROLLS
Ingredients:
500 gr vine leaves (*)
2 cups calrose rice
1 kg (~5 medium-sized) onions
1 lemon
1 cup olive oil
cup pine nuts
3 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp pimento (allspice)
3 tbsp black current
4 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar
3 cups water (1.5 cup for stuffing)

1 additional lemon for cooking if a sourer flavor is desired.

(*) Fresh or dry-conserved vine leaves. In this video, we used fresh vine leaves. If you would like to use conserved or pickled vine leaves, then you should consider the brine weight, salt and the cooking conditions. If you use conserved leaves, salty leaves should be soaked in cold water for a couple of hours to avoid an extra salty taste. If the leaves are conserved, then there is no need to blanch the leaves.


Directions:

STUFFING
Peel and dice the onions into small cubes.
Place the onions into a saucepan and add cup of olive oil. Saut for 8-10 minutes.
Wash and drain the rice, then add it to the saucepan.
Add 1.5 cup of hot water and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the pine nuts, salt, sugar, pimento, dried mint, fresh lemon juice, and black current. Mix well and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the rice and other ingredients become semi-cooked. Then, rest the mixture for 10 minutes.

VINE LEAVES
Set a medium-sized pot and boil 4 cups of water.
Dip the vine leaves into boiling water for 2 minutes to blanch them; then drain and let them cool down to room temperature.
Spread the stalks evenly along the bottom of the cooking pot, then cover with a layer of vine leaves to get a smooth base for the rolls

ROLLING THE VINE LEAVES
Set up a working area to roll the vine leaves. A large and flat plate works perfectly for this.
Ribbed side of each leaf goes inside the roll, so this side should be facing up on the plate.
Place the stuffing along the wide side of the leaf, fold the sides inwards and roll up to form a vine leaf roll.
The rolls should neither be too tight -they might rupture as rice expands while cooking-, nor too loose, or the stuffing will fall out of the rolls.
Place the rolls into the pot in an orderly fashion and snugly, so they will not be free floating in the pot during cooking.
Cover the top with a layer of vine leaves to trap the moisture for proper cooking.

COOKING
Place additional lemon slices if you like, for sour flavor.
Add 1.5 cup of water and the rest of the olive oil into the pot.
Cover with a lid and wait until the water boils. Then, cook for 90 minutes on very low heat.
Let the pot cool down to room temperature -even for a night in the fridge- before serving. The rolls might fall apart if you try to take them out while still warm!

SERVING
Place the rolls onto a serving plate right before serving to avoid drying and darkening of the vine rolls.
Use clean disposable gloves to transfer the rolls from the pot to the serving plate by hand; hands are always better than forks, spoon or tongs to maintain the rolls shape.
Drizzle with some extra fresh lemon juice and cold-pressed olive oil; serve as a cold dish!
Enjoy the relish!

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