Stuffed vine leaves – A step-by-step guide.

I love stuffed vine leaves, it’s one of the family meals I remeber as I was growing up my Mum making regularly, especially when we had visitors. The best stuffed vine leaves are made with leaves fresh off the vine, but failing that, the vine leaves preserved in brine make a good substitute.

I begin by boiling the vine leaves in water for about 10 minutes, this makes them more maleable, and also takes some of the briny taste away. I usually just put them for about 10 minutes in the microwave on full power, works just as well.

I add a chopped onion which has been fried until golden and then simmered for about 10 minutes in a tin of chopped tomatoes, to the minced pork, long grain rice, salt, pepper, cinnamon, ground cloves and dried mint, also the juice of a lemon.

Here I’m ready for the assembly job:

Each vine leaf is filled with about a tablespoon of the filling and then wrapped carefully, just tight enough to keep the vine leaves tight, but not tight enough that the cooking rice causes the leaves to split.

The vine leaves are placed in a hob proof casserole, in layers.

I use an upturned plate and a large pebble I bought from Cyprus especially for this job!
Of course it was washed and boiled before being used….

The vine leaves are simmered for 45 minutes until the rice and meat are cooked through and the vine leaves have absorbed all the water.
Here’s the finished stuffed vine leaf:

13 comments on “Stuffed vine leaves – A step-by-step guide.”

Looks delicious, Anna!I’ve made stuffed grape leaves but not recently. I’ve got a jar of leaves in brine that I bought a while ago. I’d love to try your recipe. Do you just estimate the amounts of pork, onion etc?

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They look really delicious Anna, and so easy with the step by step instructions. I have never seen vine leaves in the packet like that, we do a similar recipe with steamed cabbage leaves which is really nice. Looks lovely and healthy too!

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Linda – I’ve made them with cabbage in the past and also with spinach/chard, usually when I can’t get vine leaves.Karen – I usually use 1lb of pork mince to each pack of vine leaves. Also 1 chopped onion, 1 tin of tomatoes (400g) 1tsp salt, pepper, 1tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tbsp dried mint.Hope this helps.

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Looks great, I have been eyeing up something similar in the Ottolenghi book,I’ll need to find the vine leaves.

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Anna I’ve never had the pleasure of trying stuffed vine leaves but they look so delicious!Mariax

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This looks so delicious. I have used cabbage leaves but never vine. Lovely to get an authentic recipexxx

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They look wonderful Anna. I ate loads of these whilst on holiday in Turkey – I was going through my vegetarian phase so it was about the only regularly found food on the menu I could eat, lol. I’d love to make them here but have never found the vine leaves, where do you get yours Anna?

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Thanks all for your lovely comments.George, any Medditeranean grocer will sell them. Remember I told you once about a great Kurdish grocer in Birmingham? I think these were from there.

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Oh Anna, you have a natural talent! I have made stuffed vine leaves a few times and never *ever* have mine looked as elegant as yours. I wouldn’t mind guessing as nice as mine taste, yours taste better!:)

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Anna, your stuffed vine leaves look delicious. They’re one of my favourite summer foods.Francesca x

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Beautiful!

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These look gorgeous and so savory! I like that you slow cooked them, I bet the aroma in your kitchen is a heavenly one when you make these :). I would like to include your recipe on our blog, please email me if you’re interested.Sophie, Key Ingredient Chief Bloggersophie@keyingredient.com

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