STUFFED VINE LEAVES

The most tortuous of all foods to prepare, this is truly a case of the result justifying the effort. Once you have tasted stuffed vine leaves from the cooking pot, you will understand why tinned ones can never compare. If you are lucky enough to own a vine, then use the fresh leaves – they are amazing when they are young and soft; all you need to do is blanch them for 30 seconds in salt water. But as most of us don’t have access to a vine, we buy pre-salted leaves in a jar. Some recipes leave room for personal taste and improvisation, but this is not one of them, at least not until you have made it a few times. The quantities are exact and although it seems like a lot of olive oil, lemon and mint, they are the cornerstones of this dish. It would not be worth making without or with less, so if you are not a fan of lemon or mint, this recipe is not for you.

Makes about 30

200g vine leaves (from a jar or vacuum-packed)

For the filling
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cinnamon stick
2 white onions, peeled and finely diced (about 250g)
1 tsp turmeric
a pinch of cayenne
3 tbsp dried mint
250g risotto rice
2 tsp sea salt (or 1 tsp table salt)
juice of 2 lemons (about 120ml)
240ml water
2 small bunches of fresh mint, chopped (about 30–40g)

To cook
2 leeks (about 300g)
200g green grapes
1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons
120ml olive oil
240ml water

First prepare the leaves – bring a large pot of water to the boil and place the leaves in it. Return to the boil and then remove from the heat. Allow them to sit in the water for 10 minutes, then drain. This is a very important stage, as it softens the leaves and helps control the salt levels.

To make the filling, place the oil, cinnamon stick and onions in a saucepan. Cook on a medium heat so the onions soften without colouring. When they are translucent, mix in the turmeric, cayenne and dried mint. Add the rice and salt and mix well to coat all over. Pour in the lemon juice and allow to absorb, then add the water and leave to cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the onion-rice mixture is sticky. Remove from the pan to a large tray or plate to cool. Once cooled, stir in the fresh mint.

Now it is time to fill the leaves. Lay them on a flat surface with their shiny side down. If there are any little stems, cut them off with scissors as they will be too tough to eat. Top each leaf with a teaspoon of the onion-rice mixture and then fold to make a rice-filled parcel – bring the sides of the leaf over first, then roll it up till you have a small log about the size of your thumb. Continue making vine leaf parcels until you finish all the rice or lose your patience, whichever happens first. Any leftover leaves will be used later to line the cooking pot.

Heat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4.

Cut the leeks into thick slices (about 2cm wide), break the grapes up into little clusters of 3–5, and wash everything with plenty of water.

Slice the lemon thinly and then choose a small ovenproof pan (20cm diameter) that will contain all the stuffed leaves and cooking ingredients snugly. If you own a thick-bottomed pan, that would be best. Line the base with any leftover or torn leaves and scatter with some slices of lemon and some of the leeks and grapes. Cover with the vine leaf parcels in a tight layer, then top with the rest of the leeks, lemons and grapes and any remaining leaves.

Pour over the lemon juice and olive oil and place the pan on the stove. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes – this will release some of the liquid from the leeks and grapes. Top up with water so that the leaves are just covered and return to the boil. Place a 20cm disk of greaseproof paper directly on the top of the leaves and cover with the lid, or with aluminium foil.

Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After this time, remove the lid and paper carefully and check to see how much liquid is left in the pan. If it has mostly disappeared, pull a stuffed vine leaf out and taste it to see if the rice is cooked (be careful, it will be hot). If there is still lots of water in the pan, return it to the oven, increase the heat by 10°C and bake for another 15 minutes.

Allow the stuffed vine leaves to cool in the pan before removing them; this will help them keep their shape. Discard any vine leaves used to line the pan, but keep the cooked leeks, grapes and lemon slices to use as garnish. We like to eat stuffed vine leaves warm, but they are just as nice cold and will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. We love serving these with goats’ yogurt.