Grape Leaves Recipe

This grape leaves recipe is so good, you will lick your plate. Stuffed with a mixture of rice and meat. Flavored with the most aromatic middle eastern spices. And gently simmered in the most delectable broth to perfection.

This is my FAVORITE dish ever! My kids love it, and I often have to hold back on eating too much of it. You may find that you are in a similar pickle once you try it for yourself. Traditionally, this dish is served as an appetizer alongside a main dish with many other appetizers which we call “Maza”, but in our home, we love it so much that it has become a main meal.

INGREDIENTS FOR THIS GRAPE LEAVES RECIPE

• canned grape leaves you can usually find these in the Mediterranean section at almost any grocery store.
• uncooked long-grain rice I use jasmine rice. Any type of long grain rice would work
• ground beef, or lamb.
• Small gluten free chicken bouillon cubes for flavoring the stuffing. I now make my own chicken bouillon by making chicken broth and putting it in my freeze dryer.
• salt
• Dried parsley for flavoring the stuffing
• Extra virgin olive oil is going to give the grape leaves an amazing flavor and give them a nice sheen when they’re done.
• lemon juice
• large tomatoes we will be using them under the grape leaves in the cooking process. Tomatoes will add a unique and wonderful flavor to the dish. you should not make grape leaves without them.
• Chicken broth I almost always have chicken broth on hand. I make homemade chicken bone broth that is absolutely delicious. But if you don’t have chicken broth on hand, you can use a mixture of water and chicken bouillon cubes.
• bay leaf this is going to make a big difference in the flavor of this dish. Bay leaves have a unique flavor that no other spice that I know of can add. I am not sure how to describe the flavors it provides, but I know you need it.
• allspice I used to think that this was a mixture of spices because it tasted so much like the Middle Eastern 7 spices. However, it turns out it’s a 1 spice that has the flavors and tones of several spices combined. Amazing! I wonder if that’s were the name came from.
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper

UTENSILS

• Large heavy bottom pot
• Sharp knife
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Large mixing bowl
• Large cookie sheet or large cutting board
• Colander
• Small ceramic plate that can fit inside the pot you’re using
• Tongs
• Fine Sieve
• Clean dish towel

MAKING THE STUFFING FOR THE GRAPE LEAVES

• Start by draining the grape leaves in a colander.
• Meanwhile, to make the stuffing, rinse the 2 cups of rice in cold water. Drain using a fine sieve. Repeat this process twice.
• Place drained rice in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 pound ground beef, 2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 tablespoon parsley, and the 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.
• Crumble 1 chicken bouillon over the stuffing mixture.
• Mix all the stuffing mixture by hand until everything is well combined.

ROLLING THE GRAPE LEAVES

How to Prepare the Leaves for Stuffing

• Canned grape leaves usually come rolled in bundles, so before you begin, you will need to unroll a bundle. Take one grape leaf and lay it flat vein side up. Leaf base should be closest to you, and pointy side facing away from you. Do this on a cookie sheet, a cutting board, or even a clean countertop. If the leaf has a long stem. You can chop that off using a sharp knife or pinch it off with your fingernails.

How to Form the Stuffing

• This is a messy job. If you don’t like touching meat with your hands, you may want to wear disposable cooking gloves.
• Take some stuffing in your fingers. Lay it out on the leaf along the broad base side. Shape the stuffing slightly to form a log leaving ¼ inch seam allowance on each side of the log.

How to Roll Grape Leaves

• Fold the seam allowance over the stuffing on both sides.
• Fold the bottom of the base toward the stuffing.
• Begin rolling the leaf gently, not too firm (otherwise it would burst after it cooks) toward the pointy side.
• Repeat the process of stuffing and rolling until all the stuffing is used up or until all the grape leaves are used up.

HOW TO COOK THIS GRAPE LEAVES RECIPE

• Slice the tomato thinly into circles.
• Layout the tomato circles into one layer onto the bottom of a heavy pot.
• Layout the grape leaves over the tomatoes, seam side down, Close together, one layer at a time.
• Cover the stuffed grape leaves with chicken broth making sure the broth is about an inch above the grape leaves.
• Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and the 1 ½ tsp of salt over the grape leaves.
• Add the bay leaf over the grape leaves.
• Cover with the plate. Place the pot over a burner and turn onto high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with ½ cup of boiling chicken broth.

HOW TO SERVE

• Carefully remove the plate that is covering the grape leaves using tongs and a clean dish towel and carefully place it into the sink.
• Poor the lemon juice mixture over the grape leaves, and let everything sit on low heat for 10 more minutes.
• Remove from heat, and enjoy!

HOW TO MAKE THE PROCESS OF ROLLING GRAPE LEAVES GO FASTER

• You can layout several grape leaves on a cookie sheet, put the stuffing on them, and then roll them all out one after the other. I found that this technique saves me a lot of time. 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THESE MEDITERRANEAN RECIPES

Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mediterranean

Rustic Swiss Chard Tart – Gluten Free

Mediterranean Okra Stew With Beef

Mediterranean Beef Kofta Kabobs – Beef Kafta

Grape Leaves Recipe

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Grape Leaves Recipe

Chantal

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Equipment

• Large heavy bottom pot
• Sharp knife
• Measuring cup
• Measuring Spoons
• Large mixing bowl
• Large cookie sheet or large cutting board
• Colander
• Small ceramic plate that can fit
• inside the pot you’re using
• Tongs
• fine sieve
• Clean dish towel

Ingredients

  

• 1 Jar of canned grape leaves
• 2 cups of uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 small gluten free chicken bouillon cubes
• 3 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 to 2 large tomatoes
• 4 – 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Instructions

 

• Start by draining the grape leaves in a colander.
• Meanwhile, to make the stuffing, rinse the 2 cups of rice in cold water. Drain using a fine sieve. Repeat this process twice.
• Place drained rice in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 pound ground beef, 2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, and the ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil.
• Crumble 4 small chicken bouillon cubes over the stuffing mixture. Mix all the stuffing mixture by hand until everything is well combined.
• Canned grape leaves usually come rolled in bundles, so before you begin, you will need to unroll a bundle. Take one grape leaf and lay it flat vein side up. Leaf base should be closest to you, and pointy side facing away from you. Do this on a cookie sheet, a cutting board, or even a clean countertop. If the leaf has a long stem. You can chop that off using a sharp knife or pinch it off with your fingernails.
• This is a messy job. If you don’t like touching meat with your hands, you may want to wear disposable cooking gloves. Take some stuffing in your fingers. Lay it out on the leaf along the broad base side. Shape the stuffing slightly to form a log leaving ¼ inch seam allowance on each side of the log.
• Fold the seam allowance over the stuffing on both sides.
• Fold the bottom of the base toward the stuffing.
• Begin rolling the leaf gently, not too firm (otherwise it would burst after it cooks) toward the pointy side.
• Repeat steps 6 to 9 until all stuffing is used up or until all grape leaves are used up.
• Slice the tomato thinly into circles. Layout the tomato circles into one layer onto the bottom of a heavy pot.
• Layout the grape leaves over the tomatoes, seam side down, Close together, one layer at a time.
• Cover stuffed grape leaves with chicken broth making sure the broth is about an inch above the grape leaves. Sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and the 1 ½ tsp of salt over the grape leaves. Add the bay leaf over the grape leaves. Cover with the plate. Place the pot over a burner and turn onto high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with ½ cup of boiling chicken broth. Carefully remove the plate that is covering the grape leaves using tongs and a clean dish towel and carefully place it into the sink.
• Poor the lemon juice mixture over the grape leaves, and let everything sit on low heat for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, and enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can layout several grape leaves on a cookie sheet, put the stuffing on them, and then roll them all out one after the other. I found that this technique saves me a lot of time. 

Keyword beef recipe, dairy free gluten free recipes

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