Mission Challenge: Stuffed Vine Leaves Recipe
We challenged people in Mission, B.C., to try local eating for 100 days starting June 1. Nearly 100 people signed up - and we couldn’t resist signing up, too. Can a community change the way it eats? It’s never too late to get involved: Join in for a month, a week, even a single meal.
DAY 41 - Steve P. and Johanna C. both requested my stuffed vine leaves (in Turkey, dolma; in Greek, dolmade) recipe, which I served to a few people in Mission last weekend. Here goes:
West Coast Dolmades
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
� tsp red chili flakes
1 cup wheatberries
small bunch cilantro, chopped
small bunch parsley, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp rosemary, crushed
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
� cup crushed hazelnuts
� cup dried cherries
25-30 fresh vine leaves
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and chili and saute until onion is soft. Add wheatberries and saute 1 minute more. Add half the parsley and cilantro, the other herbs, and stock. Bring to boil, then simmer approx 1 hour or until wheatberries are soft (you may need to add more stock) and all stock is absorbed. Meanwhile, blanch the vine leaves (choose tender grape leaves that are on the small side, but large enough for stuffing) in boiling water (or, for better colour, brine: 2 tsp salt per quart of water) for 3 minutes.
Cool the wheatberries. Toss with the remainder of the parsley and cilantro, crushed nuts, and dried cherries. Salt to taste. To stuff the dolmades, place 1-2 tsp of the mixture in the centre of a vine leaf with the point of the leaf pointing away from you. Snugly fold up the bottom lobes of the leaf to cover the filling. Now fold the middle lobes over the bottom lobes. Finally, roll the covered ball of filling toward the point of the leaf, which should wrap everything tight. Give the finished dolamde a light squeeze to press everything together. Brush with hazelnut oil. Serve with yoghurt mixed with chopped fresh mint and green onions.
(Note: I substitute wildly on this recipe. I use whatever onion/garlic form is in season - leeks, garlic greens or scapes, spring or fall garlic, green onions - and often prefer walnuts to hazelnuts, or other herbs to the ones listed here.)
For more Mission blogs, including the rules, click here. Coming soon: a search for off-the-beaten-track food producers.
Happy eating,
JBM
