FoodB

Howdy campers. Been awhile. Got busy at work and have started working out again so the time it do disappear quickly.

Jenn made up some Greek food last week. We are both fans of Greek food and Jenn has been making Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) for quite awhile now. She pretty much made up the following recipe up herself. She says that she was inspired by a cross between the traditional Greek stuffed grape leaves and stuffed cabbage rolls. Whatever the inspiration is it's good stuff.

Dolmades: Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 jar of Grape Leaves
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
Large pinch of All Spice
1 tsp. of Cumin
Large pinch of nutmeg
2 Bay Leaves
1 lbs. of ground lamb
1 cup of short grain white rice
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 tbsp. of finely chopped fresh mint (or 1 teaspoon of dried crush mint)
2 tbsp. of finely chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon of dried parsley)
2 tbsp. of dried currents
1 whole lemon

1. Drain the liquid out of the grape leave jar and unroll the leaves. Submerge the grape leaves in warm water and soak for at least 15 minutes.
2. While the leaves are soaking take the chopped red onion and sauté in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat until slightly brown. When the onion starts to brown add the allspice, cumin and nutmeg and toss to coat and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Transfer the cooked onion to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add the ground lamb, rice, garlic mint, parsley and currents to the onions and mix. If the onions are cool enough you can use your hands.
4. Take the grape leaves that are soaking and cut off the stems that are poking out of the bottom of the leaf. Lay it flat and take two tablespoons of the meat mixture and put in the center of the leaf. To roll, first fold in the two sides and then roll the leaf up starting from the bottom and up. Place the rolled grape leave in a deep-large cooking pan with the end of the fold facing down. Repeat, placing them tightly in the pan.
5. Fill the pan with enough water that it is slightly an inch above the stuffed leaves. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil, two bay leaves and squeeze the lemon juice in the water. Then take the remaining grape leaves you have left and place them over the stuffed grave leaves. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
6. After the time is up, carefully remove the extra grape leaves you have placed on top and discard. Remove carefully because they are very fragile a this point.

Note: I like to serve these with Black Beans (make sure to heat and stir these on the stove for at least 10-15 minutes so they are nice and mushy.) I also serve this is Tubouli salad which you can now find at Trader Joes and it is really good as well as their roasted garlic hummus. We used to use heated pitas to dip in the hummus but now we have gotten addicted to the Pita chips that you can find at Albertsons or just about any store. Another things we serve sometime is Falafel. We really haven’t found mix that we like yet so we may have to try making some by scratch.