Stuffed Grape Leaves

All along I have been sharing tried and true favorite recipes but this is one I had never made until tonight. I am not sure what compelled me to give it a try, but I am glad I did.  These sweet and tangy Turkish bites are nothing short of addicting.  Instead of short grain rice, I used iron-rich millet, ranked as one of the healthiest whole grains. The recipe takes a little more time than I prefer to dedicate, but the rewards will absolutely outweigh your efforts. 

Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 jar pickled grape leaves

1/2 T olive oil

1 T lemon juice

1/4 r salt

- and for the filling:

1 T olive oil

1 sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

110 g short grain rice {or Bob's Red Mill millet}

1+ 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

2 +1/2 T currants

2 T pine nuts

2 T chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 t ground allspice

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t ground cloves

1/2 t dried mint

1/2 t salt

a generous grinding of fresh ground pepper

Remove the leaves from jar, place in a bowl and pour enough boiling water to cover.  Let sit for 10 minutes.

To prepare the filling, heat the oil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat and saute the onion in olive oil for 8 minutes or until softened but not colored. Stir in the rice or millet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining filling ingredients and cook for 10 minutes.

To stuff the vines, remove one by one from the water and: pat dry; remove stem with scissors; fill with 3/4 t filling; fold in left and right sides toward center; roll closed bottom to top. You should have about 20 rolls.

Line the bottom of a large saute pan with the remaining grape leaves. Place stuffed grape leaves in a single layer in the saute pan. Pour in enough water just to cover and then add olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cover, cooking on low heat for 50-60 minutes, until leaves are tender and  most or all of the water is gone.

Gently remove the grape leaves with tongs or a small spatula and place them on a platter to cool slightly before serving.

Serves 4-6. 

Source:  Ottolenghi