How much fresher can you get! Joe, I thought of you the whole time I was making them ;o)
I'm not sure how authentic this recipe is, but they smell great, simmering in a little lemon juice and olive oil right now.
20 grape leaves, about 5-6 inches in diameter
About 1 t salt
1 cup rice
1 3/4 cup water
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 cup leftover babaganoosh (I had it thought it would make a nice binder)
20 mint leaves
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
Black pepper to taste
Rinse grape leaves under cook water and put in a pot of simmering salt water for 10-12 minutes. You want them just to start to turn an olive green, this tenderizes them.
Remove from water and place in cold water. Set aside while making the filling. I cooked some rice because I wasn't sure how to let the finished, rolled grape leaves not get burned/overdone if I used raw rice to stuff them with. Besides, I had visions of grape leaves exploding as the rice cooked.
Boil rice over medium heat for about 13-15 minutes, stirring often. Add the parsley and babaganoosh; stir to combine. Place about a T of the cooked rice mixture and one mint leaf into the center of a grape leave, shiny side down. Fold leaf up and in, then roll up firmly, finishing with point-side down. The starch on the spoon/your fingers from the rice will help to keep them rolled up nicely.
When all are rolled up, combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper, in a large saucepan; cook stuffed leaves over low heat for about 20 minutes, turning over about halfway through. They longer you cook them, the more tender the leaf will be.
Let cool slightly and refrigerate for later use (I've never had them warm).
Sounds hard, really is not, and they smell so good.
I'm not sure how authentic this recipe is, but they smell great, simmering in a little lemon juice and olive oil right now.
20 grape leaves, about 5-6 inches in diameter
About 1 t salt
1 cup rice
1 3/4 cup water
2 T chopped parsley
1/4 cup leftover babaganoosh (I had it thought it would make a nice binder)
20 mint leaves
1 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
Black pepper to taste
Rinse grape leaves under cook water and put in a pot of simmering salt water for 10-12 minutes. You want them just to start to turn an olive green, this tenderizes them.
Remove from water and place in cold water. Set aside while making the filling. I cooked some rice because I wasn't sure how to let the finished, rolled grape leaves not get burned/overdone if I used raw rice to stuff them with. Besides, I had visions of grape leaves exploding as the rice cooked.
Boil rice over medium heat for about 13-15 minutes, stirring often. Add the parsley and babaganoosh; stir to combine. Place about a T of the cooked rice mixture and one mint leaf into the center of a grape leave, shiny side down. Fold leaf up and in, then roll up firmly, finishing with point-side down. The starch on the spoon/your fingers from the rice will help to keep them rolled up nicely.
When all are rolled up, combine olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper, in a large saucepan; cook stuffed leaves over low heat for about 20 minutes, turning over about halfway through. They longer you cook them, the more tender the leaf will be.
Let cool slightly and refrigerate for later use (I've never had them warm).
Sounds hard, really is not, and they smell so good.