Stuffed Grape Leaves
Stuffed grape leaves is a traditional dish in several Eastern European and
Mediterranean countries
Ingredients.
Serves four.
16 young soft grape leaves (light green in colour)
Sauce
280 grams cherry tomatoes ( or another tomato sauce)
3 to 4 tablespoons of grated sheep's cheese
Filling
2 carrots, 1 onion, 3 stalks of celery, 1 egg, 5 tablespoons grated aged sheep's
cheese, 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 4
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon pepper.
Implementation
Wash the grape leaves and blanch them for 3 to 4 minutes in plenty of boiling water.
Drain them and let them dry on a cotton cloth.
Wash and clean the vegetables. Cut them into small pieces and put them in a thick-bottomed pan with slightly heated olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and stir
constantly (!) while cooking the chopped vegetables over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave to cool. When cool, carefully mix the vegetables in a bowl with the sheep's cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley and beaten egg into a
homogeneous mixture.
Put a spoonful of filling in the centre of each leaf. Then roll it up and seal it tightly with, for example, a toothpick at the ends.
Spread a few tablespoons, cherry tomato sauce or any other tomato sauce over the bottom of a baking dish and place the rolls side by side on top. Cover them with the
remaining sauce and top with a little grated sheep's cheese.
Place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40 minutes. Halfway through cooking, remove the dish from the oven and drizzle the rolls with the sauce from the bottom. If they
are too dry, also add 2 tablespoons of water.
After baking, rest the rolls for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Mix, Stir & Smile!