Vine Leaves Stuffed with Meat

Name: Vine Leaves Stuffed with Meat (Etli yaprak dolması)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 12 oz/350 g minced lamb; salt and freshly ground pepper; 2 onions, finely chopped; bunch of dill, parsley and mint, finely chopped; juice of ½ lemon; ¼ pint/150 ml water; 25-30 fresh or preserved vine leaves, washed and prepared; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 4 oz/120 g long-grain rice, washed and drained; 1 tablespoon olive oil

Etli yaprak dolması

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Turkish Cooking

By Ghillie Basan

Published 1995

About

These stuffed vine leaves are often spiked with a little hot pepper and tomato in parts of central and south-east Anatolia. This is the Istanbul version, served hot with yogurt.

Ingredients

25-30 fresh or preserved vine leaves, washed and prepared

Asia
Turkey
Main course
Gluten-free
Mediterranean

Method

Pound and knead the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Lay the leaves on a flat surface and place a little of the meat mixture at the top of each leaf. Fold the sides over and roll the leaf up into a tight package. Arrange them in the base of a wide saucepan, jammed together so that they don’t open while cooking. Mix together the cooking liquid ingredients and pour the