My Grandmother's Stuffed Grapeleaves

Armenian Style Stuffed Grapeleaves

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds of ground beef

1 can or 16 oz of plain tomato sauce

2 cups long grain white rice

1 small onion finely diced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 16oz jar of grape leaves

¼ cup water

Preparation of the grape leaves and the meat filling::

Remove the grape leaves from the jar… this takes a little bit of jiggling to get them out… they are packed in brine, I suggest sticking a finger in there, and tilting it to the side to remove all of the liquid first, then gently pull the bunches out. There should be 2 or 3 neatly folded bundles in there, depending on the size of the leaves. Drain, open up the bunches and allow them to sit in some clean cold water for a few minutes to remove some of the excess  brine.

Once they’ve sat for a few minutes, begin removing the stems from each leave. (If you leave the stems on, they will be too tough to chew) Use scissors to cut them off at the base of the leaf.

While the grape leaves are soaking, in a separate bowl mix together the beef, rice, spices, water and ¾ of the can of tomato sauce- reserving ¼ of the can for use later. Now get in there and use your hands and mix mix mix! Making sure everything is combined well. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Get ready to roll….

Place the leave with the shiny side down, vein side up on a flat surface and spread out. Place about a teaspoon to tablespoon (depends on leave size) and using the tips of your fingers, pinch it outwards, leaving some space to fold in the edges of the leaves.  

Fold up the bottom leave

Fold in the sides

Roll upwards tightly. Don’t roll it up too tight as while the rice and meat are cooking, they will expand and it will tear the leaf or unravel.

Repeat this process with the remaining leaves and meat mixture. (reserving about 5-10 leaves)

Now here comes the tricky part… (as if this wasn’t hard enough!) If you don’t place your little grape leave cigars properly in the pot while they’re cooking… well, all this is for nothing. Ha ha ha. I’m KIDDING! You’re doing great!  They will unravel if you place them with the seam in the wrong place.

In a large saucepan or medium sized pot, lay a few of the remaining leaves on the bottom of the pan. Lay each stuffed grape leave side by side next to each other tightly, seam side up and continue making even layers. Do not fill it all the way to the rim of the pan, as it will as I said expand and well, you’ll have a mess on your hands… or your stove rather. Layer about 2 inches from the top of the pan and place a small plate upside down on top of the grape leaves and apply pressure to hold it down.

In a large measuring cup mix together:

2 cups cold water (Give or take a bit)

Remaining tomato sauce

1 teaspoon crushed mint

2 cloves crushed garlic (mortar & pestle it into a paste)

¼ teaspoon cayenne

½ lemon juice

Pour this mixture over the leaves, making sure that they are covered just over the top of the edge of the plate on top. If you don’t have enough liquid, add more plain water. Cook on high heat until it comes to a boil and then reduce heat down to a low simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, making sure that the leaves don’t move around inside the pot.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before removing plate from the top- remove leaves from the pot and serve with some lemon wedges… or as we do with some plain yogurt or lebni (Armenian style yogurt)  on the side.

**sidenote** You can omit the cayenne if it’s too spicy for you. Look for leaves that aren’t too thick. Use only the flexible soft leaves This meat filling can be used to stuff bell peppers, small eggplants, zucchini, or even tomatoes. You’d cook it using the same process. Once you get the hang of rolling the leaves you’ll be on a roll… ha ha ha (bad joke) Just know, they don’t have to be perfect! I hope that you try this recipe… it’s a little bit a work… who am I kidding… it’s work! But you’ll really love the end result! I know I always did and still do!