Essential · about 2 h 30 min · Serves 4
Lamb and rice stuffed grape leaves, cooked in lemon
The same root as the Signature lamb and eggplant dolma: grape leaves wrapping spiced rice and meat, served with yogurt. This version is the one from Armenian and Lebanese family cooking: the filling goes in raw, the rolls are packed tight in the pot and cooked slowly in lemony broth.
The twist is in the cooking. The rice and ground lamb cook inside the leaf with the broth they absorb, so each roll ends up tender and compact. A plate on top keeps them still, and the lemon and olive oil in the liquid give them their characteristic acidity. They are served with a garlic and mint yogurt.
Special equipment: wide heavy-bottomed pot with lid; a plate that fits inside the pot
Ingredients
Grape leaves
- 30–34 brined grape leaves (24 for the rolls and the rest to line the pot)
Lamb and rice filling
- 400 g ground lamb, or half lamb and half beef
- 150 g short- or long-grain rice, washed and drained
- 1 medium onion, grated
- 20 g chopped parsley
- 10 g chopped fresh mint, or 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon allspice or ground cinnamon
- 30 ml olive oil
- 8 g fine salt
- Black pepper
Cooking
- 600–700 ml beef stock or hot water
- 60 ml lemon juice
- 30 ml olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, whole
- 1 tomato, sliced, optional
Garlic and mint yogurt
- 250 g thick plain or Greek yogurt
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped mint
- Salt
Finishing
- 1 lemon, in wedges
- Olive oil
Method
Grape leaves
- Desalting. Unroll the leaves, cover them with boiling water and leave them 10 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water and cut off the stems. Set aside the torn or small ones to line the pot.
Lamb and rice filling
- Mixing. Mix by hand the meat, rice, onion with its juice, parsley, mint, spices, oil, salt and pepper, until homogeneous. The rice goes in raw: it cooks inside the leaf.
- Assembly. Lay a leaf with the glossy side down and the veins up, with the stem toward you. Put 1 tablespoon of filling, about 25 g, in a cylinder at the base. Fold the bottom over the filling, then the sides inward and roll toward the tip, firm but not tight: the rice needs room to swell. This makes 24 rolls of about 6 cm.
Cooking
- Setting up the pot. Line the bottom of the pot with the torn leaves and, if using, the tomato slices. Arrange the rolls seam side down, packed close, in layers, and scatter the garlic cloves among them.
- Slow cooking. Mix the hot stock with the lemon and oil and pour it in to barely cover the rolls. Set a plate on top, inverted, so they do not move. Bring to a gentle boil, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 50–60 minutes, until the rice is tender and almost no liquid remains. Taste a roll: it should be compact, tender and with the rice completely cooked. Turn off the heat and rest covered 15 minutes.
Garlic and mint yogurt
- Mixing. Mix the yogurt with the garlic, mint and salt, and keep it in the refrigerator.
Finishing
- At serving. Have the lemon wedges and the olive oil ready.
The dish
Use flat plates or a platter to share. Arrange 6 rolls per person in one or two rows, slightly tilted, and sprinkle them with a spoonful of the cooking liquid and a drizzle of olive oil so they shine. Put a generous spoonful of yogurt to one side, flattened with the back of the spoon, and finish with a little mint and a lemon wedge. Final look: glossy, tight olive-green rolls, the white of the yogurt and the yellow of the lemon.
Key points
- Roll firm but not tight: raw rice swells.
- Pack the rolls very close and seam side down.
- Put a plate on top so they do not come apart.
- Cook over the lowest heat and taste a roll before turning off the heat.
- Rest covered before serving.
Pairing
A dry rosé or a white with good acidity. Without alcohol, ayran: yogurt whisked with cold water and salt.
Notes
- Storage: the rolls keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator, covered with their liquid. Reheat them covered over low heat to 74 °C (165 °F), or serve them cold or warm after having reheated them.
- Vegetarian: replace the meat with 150 g more rice and 1 chopped tomato; they are served cold.