Daniel Goldwater
Chef CMRJ
Jerusalem
Israel
Most traditional homes around the Mediterranean were built around courtyards, a private communal space utilised exclusively by the extended family that lived in the dwellings that surrounded it. The courtyard was for both security and community, and might well have a water cistern to supply the residents’ needs. The children played there securely, the flock was often penned there at night and the different generations gathered producing foods or making traditional wares for personal use or market. The courtyard was also designed to provide shade from the harsh unrelenting summer sun. The shade invariably was provided by a lush grapevine grown like a canopy over the courtyard that also produced grapes toward the end of summer and grape leaves in late spring.
Stuffed grape leaves are known by many different names and filled with everything from meats to rice and vegetables. Alongside using doughs or pastry to envelope and deliver the fillings, many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern kitchens also use young and pliable grape leaves, something that can be preserved and used throughout the year.
You can do it the hard way and ask a local winemaker if you can pick some of his leaves in late spring and then preserve them, or you can go to your local supermarket and buy a quality jar of preserved young grape leaves, usually made in Turkey.
Where I live they’re called ‘Aley Geffen’ (grape leaves). My mother-in-law (may her memory be blessed) made them and Merav my wife has thankfully carried on the tradition. This is her family’s recipe.
Ingredients for filling: (Feeds an extended family)
- One jar of grape leaves
- One onion, diced
- One large carrot, diced fine
- 2 cups of round rice
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Juice of one lemon
- Dill x ½ bunch, chopped fine
- Parsley x ½ bunch chopped fine
- Coriander x ½ bunch, chopped fine
- Mint (Nana) x ½ bunch, chopped fine
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- Large pinch pepper
Ingredients for liquid for cooking:
- Juice 1.5 lemons
- Water 2 cups
Method:
Rinse grape leaves from their saline mixture, place in colander and leave to drain.
Fry onion in a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once onion is clear add carrot, add rice, stir for a minute; add sugar, tomato paste and lemon juice, remove from gas and set aside. When the mixture cools add all chopped herbs, salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.
Preparation of heavy based cooking pot with lid:
Oil bottom of the pot and place a layer of unfilled open grape leaves covering the bottom of the pot and leave and set aside enough grape leaves to cover the filled leaves at top of the pot.
Stuffing of leaves.
Place grape leaf on board with smooth side down. Place one heaped teaspoon of filling at the wide part of the leaf. Fold one fold from the base of the leaf towards the top of the leaf, fold in the two sides and tightly roll the remainder. Squeeze each filled leaf before place in pot to remove excess liquid and ensure the package is tight. Place the filled grape leaves starting from the outside moving in, end to tail, circle by circle. Do layers of filled grape leaves until the top of pot. Then place the remaining open grape leaves at the top, creating a layer.
Adding the liquid:
Once finished, pour in liquid mixture, place a plate to weight down the filled grape leaves, bring to boil with lid off, place lid tightly closed — you may have to use aluminium foil if your lid doesn’t seal — reduce heat to minimum and cook for an hour.
Saha wa Hana (Bon appetite and enjoy in Arabic)
Next week I will stay in the Middle East and offer up the unique marathon baking Sabbath Bread known as Jachnun from Yemen. It takes 12 hours to bake with every minute being worth it.
Shabbat Shalom
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