Stuffed Grape Leaves

My mom has made stuffed grape leaves for as long as I can remember.  She’s made them for so long, it’s practically a family tradition.  Now that I have children of my own, one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen with my mom is roll grape leaves with my daughters.  There’s something so relaxing about stuffing a grape leaf with rice and rolling it up like a burrito.

The flavors in homemade stuffed grape leaves are pretty sensational.  You’ve got fresh lemon juice, mint and tomatoes. Add in some rice and the saltiness of the grape leaves and you’ve got a great flavor combo.

Don’t be afraid to make these, either.  Using instant rice will cut down the cooking time and rolling them is not only easy, it’s fun, especially if you get your kids involved.

Plus, eating grape leaves just sounds cool…

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Serves 4-5 people

Ingredients:

• 15.2 oz. jar of grape leaves
• 3 cups instant brown rice
• 1 tablespoon course salt, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons mint
• 1 cup grated tomato
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more for garnish

Instructions:

• Drain the grape leaves, then place them in a medium-sized pot, and pour in enough water to cover the leaves.
• Bring the water to a boil, and cook the leaves for about 10 minutes, to soften them.
• While the leaves are cooking, in a large bowl, combined the uncooked instant brown rice, salt, pepper, mint, grated tomato, olive oil and lemon juice.  Stir until well combined.  {Add additional salt if necessary.}
• After the grape leaves have boiled for 10 minutes, remove the pot from the stovetop, drain the leaves and rinse them under cold water a few times.
• Once the leaves are cool enough to touch, start rolling the stuffed grape leaves: take a grape leaf, lay it flat on a plate, then place about a tablespoon of the rice mixture in the center of the grape leaf.  Carefully roll the grape leaf like you would a burrito by rolling from the bottom up and folding in the sides as you go.
• Place the stuffed grape leaf in a large pot, then repeat until you have stuffed all of the grape leaves.
• Cover the stuffed grape leaves in the pot with 1/2 cup of water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Once it reaches a boil,  cover and reduce the heat to low.  Cook over low until the stuffed grape leaves are fork-tender, about 25 minutes.  {Check the water level about halfway through.  If the bottom leaves are starting to dry out, add a little more water.}
• Let cool slightly, drizzle with olive oil, serve with lemon wedges and enjoy!

Original La Casa de Sweets family recipe.