Herby Ground Beef-Stuffed Grape Leaves Recipe
Prep Time:
1 hour
Cook Time:
1 hour, 18 minutes
Servings:
40 stuffed grape leaves
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups short grain rice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ⅓ cup fresh mint, finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
  • 1 (1-pound) packet grape leaves
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • Juice of 2 lemons
Directions
  1. Soak the rice in warm water for 15 minutes.
  2. Drain the rice and set aside.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
  4. Saute the diced onion for 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. Add the ground beef, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper to the pan.
  6. Saute everything together for 5 to 6 minutes, until the beef is just cooked, then remove from the heat.
  7. Mix the drained rice, mint, parsley, and dill into the beef mixture.
  8. Rinse off the grape leaves in warm water.
  9. Separate the leaves into whole leaves and broken leaves. You can use the broken leaves later to line the cooking pot.
  10. To roll the grape leaves, first lay one leaf flat on a work surface.
  11. Add roughly 1 tablespoon of the beef filling to the center of the leaf.
  12. Fold the base of the leaf up and over the beef filling, then fold in the sides.
  13. Carefully roll the leaf forward, encasing the beef filling inside.
  14. Continue this process until you have used up the whole grape leaves and filling.
  15. Stir the tomato paste into a jug containing 4 cups of hot water.
  16. To assemble the stuffed grape leaves for cooking, first drizzle a little oil into a deep pan or Dutch oven, and layer the base and sides with broken grape leaves.
  17. Place the stuffed grape leaves into the pan, drizzling each layer with a little olive oil.
  18. Place a few final leaves on top to protect the stuffed grape leaves, then pour the hot tomato paste mixture into the pan.
  19. Place an upside-down plate on top to help press the stuffed leaves down as they cook.
  20. Bring the pan to a low simmer and cook for 50 minutes, until the leaves are tender.
  21. Add the lemon juice to the pan and then let the stuffed grape leaves cook for another 20 to 25 minutes.
  22. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.
  23. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.