One of our favorite appetizers in Turkey was the stuffed vine leaves recipe that I tried to recreate for myself. For my first attempt at them, they tasted great! My wrapping skills could use some work though...
I think it might take a few more tries to perfect them. Plus, I always put more stuff in wrapped things that you're supposed to. It was to try to make them, and interesting to learn what goes into them and how they are made.
Today's video includes a quick shot of:
- The Blue Mosque - One of Istanbul's most famous attractions
- Me - Sticking my tongue out at Phil
- The Grand Bazaar - Over 1200 small shops on 58 narrow streets - the video doesn't really show how massive and busy this place is
Last night we were at the wedding of a good friend of Phil's. It was the event that sparked our whole trip, and it was such a fun evening to be a part of. There were more on the Turkish side than the Canadian side, since it's a bit far for us, and there was plenty of Turkish dancing and of course wonderful food.
The caterers even came up with a last minute grilled vegetable dish for us to replace the large piece of meat that was the entree. We also had lots of amazing food on the boat cruise a couple of nights ago in celebration of the wedding and Mike's birthday.
Thank you to Mike and Sebnem for a great night, and we wish you a lot of happiness!
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Time from start to eating: 75 minutes
Makes about 20 rolls
Stuffed Vine Leaves Recipe Ingredients
- 25 vine leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 green onions, chopped
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup short grain brown rice
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 2 lemons
Stuffed Vine Leaves Recipe Directions
- Blanch the leaves if they aren't already (put them in boiling water for 5 seconds, then pull out and put into ice water). Allow them to cool.
- Mix all the ingredients except for the lemons in a bowl. Place a spoonful in the center of a vine leaf, fold both ends in and roll.
- Some tips for rolling are to use large leaves, use a small amount of filling, make sure the herbs are finely chopped (my knife wasn't the greatest, so I had trouble with this), and don't use too much of the herbs. I had a large bunch of parsley that
- I wanted to use all of our food up since we're leaving today, but the ratio of parsley was pretty high and that also gave me some issues. If you're really having trouble, or you have small leaves, try laying 2 down together, overlapping, to make rolling a bit easier.
- Place a few vine leaves flat on the bottom of a pot and place the rolls in circles, evenly spaced and close together.
- Place a plate on top of the rolls so that they don't break open while cooking.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the rolls, then add enough water to cover them.
- Boil gently until the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked, about 45 min. Let the rolls cool, then serve with some lemon wedges. This stuffed vine leaves recipe might take some practice, but like most healthy vegan recipes the flavor is totally worth it!
© Heather Nauta . heather@healthyveganrecipes.net
Disclaimer: This website is for educational purposes only, from the research,
education and experience of Heather Nauta. It is not intended as medical advice.
Disclaimer: This website is for educational purposes only, from the research,
education and experience of Heather Nauta. It is not intended as medical advice.
