Cold Stuffed Vine Leaves

Name: Cold Stuffed Vine Leaves
Ingredients: Salt and black pepper; 250 g (8 oz) preserved, drained vine leaves; Juice of 1 lemon, or more; ¼ teaspoon powdered saffron or turmeric (optional); 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 large onion, finely chopped, or 4 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions; 2–3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped; 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley; 2 tablespoons dried crushed mint; ¼ level teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ level teaspoon ground cinnamon; 250 g (8 oz) long-grain rice; 150 ml (¼ pint) olive oil; 3–4 cloves garlic (optional); 2 tomatoes, sliced (optional)

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A New Book of Middle Eastern Food

By Claudia Roden

Published 1986

About

This is an exquisite dish in which the delicate aromas of the spices blend with the taste of the vine leaves against a background of acid lemon and sweet garlic. In Egypt this version is called ‘false’ or ‘lying’ because there is no meat, but nevertheless most people prefer it.

Ingredients

250 g (8 oz) preserved, drained vine leaves
250

Main course
Vegan
Gluten-free

Method

Prepare the leaves as described in the previous recipe. Soak and stir the rice in boiling water, and then rinse it under the cold tap. Drain it thoroughly. In a bowl, mix the rice with the tomatoes, onion or spring onions, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice and salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff the leaves with this mixture and roll them up as described in the previous recipe. Pack them tig