Yaprach Stuffed Grape Leaves Recipes

YAPRAKES FINOS (SEPHARDIC STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)

Steps:

• Stuffing: Peel, seed, and chop tomatoes. Set aside.Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. If desired, add the pine nuts and sauté until golden. Add the rice and sauté until well coated, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the water, tomatoes, parsley, salt, sugar, pepper, and, if desired, currants. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let cool.If using preserved leaves: unroll, rinse under cold water, then soak in cold water to cover for 15 minutes. If using fresh grape leaves: blanch in boiling lightly salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Carefully cut off the stems. Place the leaves on a flat surface, shiny side down and vein side up.On large leaves place about 1 Tablespoon stuffing and on smaller leaves a heaping teaspoon near the stem end. Carefully fold the leaf from the stem end to cover the filling. Fold the sides over, then roll up the leaf to make a neat package.Cover the bottom of a baking dish or heavy pot with any extra leaves. Arrange the rolls, seam side down, in layers in the prepared dish.To Make the Sauce: Combine the water, lemon juice, oil, garlic, sugar, and salt and pour over the stuffed grape leaves to cover. Weigh down the rolls with a heavy plate. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES (DOLMADES)

Steps:

• Mix the lamb, onions, rice, pine nuts, salt, pepper, and mint into a bowl until evenly combined. Gently open up a grape leaf, and place rib-side down onto your work surface. Place a rounded tablespoon of the meat mixture into the center of the grape leaf. Fold the bottom of the leaf over the meat, fold in the sides, and roll into a tight cylinder. Place the rolled grape leaf into a large skillet, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining grape leaves, packing them in a tight, single layer.
• Pour the water into the skillet, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, 50 to 55 minutes. Check occasionally and add more water if needed. Pour off water before serving.

YAPRAKIA (STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)

Steps:

• In a bowl mix the ground beef, uncooked rice, onion, 3/4 cup chicken broth, juice of 1 lemon, dill, salt and pepper.
• To blanchthe leaves place them in boiling water for a few seconds then put them in a colander to drain.
• Lay 1 leaf vein side up, place 1 tsp of mixture close to the stem. Next fold the sides in and roll upwards.(If the mixture begins to dry just add more chicken stock)
• Optional: Line the bottom of a stock pot with a few leaves.
• Start to place the rolled grape leaves tightly together in a circular pattern at the bottom of the stockpot. Continue until all of the leaves have been filled and placed in the pot.
• Add in 2 cups of chicken broth and the juice from ½ of a lemon. Then place the squeezed lemon in the pot as well.
• Cover with extra leaves and drizzle with olive oil.
• Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil
• Once boiling immediately reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is soft.
• Before serving add a squeeze of lemon juice on top of cooked yaprakia.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• Leave your grape leaves in cold water for couple of hours otherwise it will be too salty.
• Leave your rice in warm water (almost hot) for 20 minutes then strain.
• Take your 250 gr. ground beef, 1 cup of washed rice, 2 grated tomatoes, 3 finely chopped onions, 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley, 1/2 tbsp. pepper paste, 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste, 1/4 cup vegetable oil some salt and some black pepper in a large bowl. Knead it with your hands until all the ingredients combine very well. Your mixture is ready : )
• Grab your dutch oven, cover the bottom with grape leaves.
• Take on of your grape leaves, put 1 tbsp. of your mixture at the bottom of it, fold the edges and roll. You can see a detailled introduction on our below video. Align the rolls to your dutch oven one by one without leaving any space. If you leave spaces it will bloat and fall apart while cooking.
• Take your dutch oven to a medium heat. Melt 1 tbsp. beef bouillon in 2 cups of water and add it to your stuffed grape leaves. Cover the lid and cook about 35-45 minutes.
• While cooking the stuffed grape leaves, prepare your sauce. Heat your 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a pan. Add 1 tbsp. tomato paste and 1 tbsp. dried mints, saute about 1-2 minutes. Take it off from the heat, add 1 cup of water and 1 fresh lemon juice, stir until dissolved.
• Take your stuffed grape leaves off from the heat after they are cooked. Hover your sauce over your stuffed grape leaves, cover the lid and rest it for about 1 hour.

YAPRAK SARMA RECIPE | TURKISH STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a frying pan heat the oil and briefly sauté the onion until it becomes translucent.
• Add the rice, which you have previously washed and drained, and pour over 150 ml of water. Simmer over low heat until water begins to evaporate. Now add pine nuts, black currants, mint, parsley, dill, salt, and black pepper and all simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• While the stuffing is cooling, prepare the leaves by washing them well in cold water. Separate the thicker and larger pieces of leaves and cover the bottom of the larger pot in which you will cook the sarma.
• Now wrap the stuffing in grape leaves as shown in the pictures. The goal is to get thin and long rolls.
• Arrange the sarma in a pot next to each other. To avoid opening, cover them with the rest of the leaves. Add one lemon sliced, pour over two tablespoons of olive oil and pour boiling water over everything so that the sarma is topped with water. Put on low heat to cook for 40-45 minutes.
• That's it. Yaprak sarma is done. Serve it cold as a starter or side dish, with the addition of yoghurt.

YAPRACH (STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients except for the grape leaves together in a large bowl.
• Rinse the grape leaves well in hot water and leave them in a bowl of hot water while you work with each one individually.
• Place one leaf on your working surface, smooth side down.
• Take one teaspoon of rice filling (measure according to the size of the leaf) and place it in a finger shape in the middle of the leaf.
• Roll the outer edges towards but not quite reaching the middle.
• Roll from the bottom towards the top into a cigar shape and place in a large pot.
• Continue until all the leaves and filling has been used up, placed the filled leaves in the pot in a circular fashion, one level on top of another.
• Add water until slightly covering the leaf layers.
• Add a few drops of oil, a pinch of pepper and citric acid and 1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste to the water.
• Boil covered until all the water has been absorbed.
• Remove from heat.
• Place a kitchen towel between the pot and cover, cover well and return to a small flame.
• Cook for an additional 1/2 hour.
• Serve hot or cold.