Stuffed Wild Grape Leaves

By stkappleto

My version of the Greek favorite.

Ingredients

• 6 dozen grape leaves rinsed.
• 2 C leftover rice
• 1 lb hamburger
• 1 minced onion
• 6 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 C chopped pecans
• 1 handful plantain chopped (this is a wild green, you could substitute swiss chard or spinach)
• 2 TB lemon juice
• salt
• pepper

Preparation

Step 1

Preparing the Leaves.
Young leaves are best. Choose leaves that are bright green, and about as large as a woman's hand.

Rinse leaves and then bring a pot of water with 1 tsp salt to boil. Add leaves and boil a few minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

The Stuffing
Brown hamburger with onion and garlic. Drain if needed. Add salt, pepper, and nuts. Cook a few more minutes. Mix with remaining ingredients. Allow to cool.

Place the leaf stem side up. Put about 1 TB of stuffing on near the stem end. Fold the sides in and roll tightly, and place in a shallow baking dish.

The rolls can simply be brushed with olive oil or baked with about a cup of tomato sauce or water. I prefer them baked with tomato sauce.

Bake at 300 F for 50 minutes.