Description
The best way to prepare delicious grape leaves, or yeb’r’t in Arabic, as handed down by my grandmother from Aleppo, Syria as brought to the US in 1912.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 pounds ground lamb
- 2 (16 ounce) jars grape leaves, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 6 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 cup lemon juice
- 2 kalamata olives (Optional)
Instructions
- Soak rice in cold water
- and drain. Mix together ground lamb
- rice
- allspice
- salt
- and pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Place about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture onto the center of each grape leaf. Fold leaf over once
- turn in the edges on each side
- and then roll the leaf closed.
- Stack leaf rolls in a large pot
- covering each layer with slices of garlic. Add just enough water to cover rolls
- then pour in lemon juice. Add olives to the pot for flavoring. Place a plate on top of the rolls to keep them under the water.
- Bring to a boil
- then reduce heat
- cover and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste rice for doneness. Grape leaves taste even better after sitting for several hours. Serve and enjoy.
Prep Time: 45 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs
Servings: 32