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Monday, August 31, 2009

Stuffed Grape Leaves with Groundmeat (Etli Yaprak Sarması)


makes 50-60 stuffed grape leaves

1/2 lb ground meat

1/3 cup white rice

2 medium size onions, grated or chopped finely in a processor

1 tsp black pepper salt

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup dill

1 tbsp tomato paste

3 tbsp olive oil or 1,5 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp butter

juice of 1/2 lemon

-If you have fresh grape leaves, boil water in a pot. Cook grape leaves ~1 minute in boiling water. Take out and let cool.

-If you are using jarred grape leaves, soak them in cold water for an hour; they tend to be salty.

-Put ground meat, rice, onion, black pepper, salt, parsley, dill, and 1,5 tbsp olive oil in a bowl.

-Dissolve 1 tbsp tomato paste with 3 tbsp hot water and pour this into the bowl.

-Mix all the ingredients.

-Save the broken, faulty leaves. Use them to cover the bottom of a pot with grape leaves to prevent them from burning.

-Take one leaf. Place it on a smooth surface the vein side up/shiny side down. Place a spoonful of stuffing at the bottom center of the leaf close to the stem. Fold in two sides first and then the bottom. Then roll it neatly like a cigar. Keep rolling until all the leaves are gone. If you still have stuffing, you can use it to stuff small bell peppers.

-Stack stuffed grape leaves in the pot tightly layer by layer.

-Add 1,5 tbsp olive oil or butter, juice of half lemon and water to barely cover the sarmas.

-Place a flat-ish plate on top of stuffed grape leaves so that they won't move around. Cover and cook on low for 35-45 minutes.

-Serve with crusty bread and yogurt.

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