Name: Meaty vine leaf pie
Yield: Serves eight
Cuisine: Palestinian
Ingredients: 3 large garlic cloves, crushed; 50 g pine nuts; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped (150g); 80 ml lemon juice (from about 2 lemons); 2½ tbsp olive oil; 250 g Greek-style yoghurt, to serve (optional); 50 g blanched whole almonds, roughly chopped; 1 tbsp olive oil; 350 g Egyptian rice (or pudding or risotto rice, as an alternative); 2½ tsp baharat; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 150 g lamb mince; 350 g beef mince; 30 g mint leaves, finely shredded; Salt and black pepper; 4 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1cm-thick rounds (400g); 50 g parsley, finely chopped, plus extra picked leaves to garnish; 900 ml boiling water; 450 g jar of vine leaves in brine, drained (250 g)

Preparation info

Serves
eight

Difficulty
Complex

Appears in

Falastin

By Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley

Published 2020

About

Rolling individual vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice is wonderful – the leaves melt in the mouth and their making often signals a celebration – but it’s a time-consuming business. Here, we’ve taken a fair bit of the work out of the equation by making one big pie. Serve with any (or all) of the following: a spoonful of yoghurt, a squeeze of lemon or some flatbread.

Getting ahead: This can be served warm or at room temperature, the day it is made or for up to 2 days after.