BEST Mediterranean Stuffed Grape Leaves with different variations for meat or vegan filling, and a faster technique than the old-school method.
Course Tapas
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword Best Mediterranean Stuffed Grape Leaves
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Total Time 55 minutesminutes
Servings 12servings
Equipment
2 Medium Saucepans
Baking sheet pan
Ingredients
1lbJarred Grape Leavestender grape leaves
1 1/2lbsGround meatground beef or lamb
1 1/4cupsWhite rice
1/2cupOnion finely chopped
1/4cupPine nutsoptional
1/4cupOlive oilextra for brushing
2tbspFresh lemon juice
1/4cupFresh herbsFresh parsley, finely chopped
2tspSaltor to taste
1 1/4cupChicken brothor water
1tspCoarse Kosher salt
Vegan Version
1 1/4cupHulled barley
1cupFrench lentils
3cupsHot water
Instructions
Preparing Meat and Rice MixtureIn a medium-size saucepan, over medium heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of the pot, add rice, 1 teaspoon salt and pine nuts and sauté for about 1-minute, while stirring. Add the broth, cover and cook for about 20-minutes.
While the rice is cooking, place the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, add the onions, 1 teaspoon salt and ground meat and sauté until all the pink is gone from the meat, stirring all the while.
Once the meat is no longer pink, remove from the stovetop. Add the cooked rice to the meat mixture, along with the lemon juice, and fresh parsley, stir, cover and allow to sit while preparing the jarred grape leaves.
Preparing Leaves Remove the grape leaves from the jar, rinse well and unfold them, separating each leaf, cutting off the stem end and laying it on a paper towel or across a large strainer. This step makes rolling the grape leaves much more efficient.
On a cutting board or flat surface, place one leaf in front of you, shiny side down with the stem side close to you. Using a teaspoon, place a heaping teaspoon of the filled mixture at the end close to you. Fold over the edges along the sides, and begin to roll the filling inside the leaf in a tight 'cigar-like' roll. Place each rolled grape leaf in a large airtight container and continue to roll the remaining leaves. Don't throw away any remaining leaves, but rather place them on top of the rolled leaves to use later when heating the stuffed grape leaves.
Preparing Vegetarian VersionUsing the exact ingredients as the meat stuffed leaves, simply replace the rice with barley, French lentils for the ground meat and hot water for chicken broth.
In two separate medium size saucepans, drizzle equal amounts of olive oil in each pan, equal amounts of chopped onions in each. Add the barley to one of the pans, pine nuts and lentils to the other, stir, add lemon juice and salt to each. Add 1 1/2 cups of hot water to each pan, stir, lower the heat and cook until the water has evaporated, the barley is plump and lentils are soft. Once they cool, gently fold the lentils into the barley mixture and use this filling in the same way as preparing Mediterranean meat stuffed grape leaves above. Proceed with the instructions above for Preparing Leaves and rolling them.
Heat and ServeSince the filling on either variation of stuffed grape leaves is already cooked, and the leaves are already soft from being brined, the stuffed grape leaves can remain in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Since this was a labor of love, and you now have about 50 stuffed grape leaves, simply place as many as you want to serve on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil, a pinch of coarse salt on top and place in a 325 degree oven for about 15-minutes.
To prevent the tops from drying out while heating, place any leftover leaves on top to cover them while being heated.
Video
Notes
A tip for rolling small or torn leaves: since not all leaves will be perfectly shaped, simply overlap 2 badly shaped leaves and roll them as 1 whole leaf.