grape leaves with rice and pumpkin

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What a delightful cookbook for armchair travel!

 

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Grape Leaves Stuffed with Pumpkin and Rice from Kalymnos

 

Recipe By :Diane Kochilas 2000

Serving Size : 24 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Appetizers Vegetarian

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

10 ounces grape leaves -- (one jar in brine)

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 large red onions -- finely chopped

2 1/2 pounds pumpkin (winter squash)

2/3 cup short-grain rice

salt and freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 lemon -- (2-3) juiced

 

1. Drain the grape leaves and rinse well in a colander. Bring a large pot of

water to a rolling boil and blanch the grape leaves, in batches if necessary,

for 3 to 5 minutes to soften. Drain and immediately rinse under cold running

water. Trim the tough stems off the leaves and set aside the ones that are

either very small or torn.

 

2. Peel, seed and coarsely shred the meat of the pumpkin [see tip]. Heat 3 to 4

tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and cook

the onions, stirring frequently, until translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the

shredded pumpkin, in batches if necessary, cooking it until most of it's liquid

has cooked off, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the rice and simmer, stirring, just to

soften a little, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the

heat and let cool slightly. Mix in the mint and parsley and toss with the

remaining olive oil.

 

3. Place the grape leaves, shiny side down, in rows on a large table. Place the

ripped or very small ones on the bottom of a large pot. Place a heaping teaspoon

of filling in the bottom center of each leaf on the table. Fold the bottom over

the filling, then fold the sides over it and roll up, tucking the sides in as

you go. Place the grape leaves seam side down in the pot, snugly next to each

other, in layers. Pour in the lemon juice and add enough water to barely cover

the surface of the dolmathes. Cut a piece of parchment to the circumference of

the pot and fit it over the leaves. Cover with a plate to keep the grape leaves

in place and place the lid on the pot. Simmer until the leaves are nice and

tender and the pot juices absorbed, about 50 minutes. Remove from the heat and

serve either hot or at room temperature. [serve 2 to 3 for appetizers; 5 for a

luncheon; 8 to 10 for main course.]

 

VARIATION: Instead of pumpkin, use the same amount of grated zucchini. Add 1 to

2 grated firm, ripe tomatoes to the filling as well.

 

PUMPKIN TIP - Cut the pumpkin in half and then into wedges. Place one wedge at a

time on it's side on a cutting board and using a large sharp knife, cut away the

rind. Grate the pumpkin by hand on a cheese grater with large holes. You can

also grate it in a food processor.

 

HOW TO ROLL DOLMATHES - I think it is easiest and fastest to do this

assembly-line fashion. Place the individual leaves, vein side up, in as many

rows as will fit on your work surface. Snip off the stems with a small knife or

kitchen shears. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling (or more if the leaves are

very large) on the center bottom of each leaf, leaving about 1/2-inch of space.

Fold in the sides to cover the filling, then fold in the bottom. Roll up the

leaves, gently tucking in the sides as you go. Always place the rolled leaf seam

side down in the pot.

 

Description:

" Greek: filla gemista me kolokytha "

Cuisine:

" Mediterranean "

Source:

" Glorious Foods of Greece [iSBN 0688154573] "

Yield:

" 60 pieces "

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 100 Calories; 5g Fat (41.6% calories from

fat); 1g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 152mg

Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.

 

NOTES : " I have had some of the best meals of my life in Greek monasteries.

Greek monks and sisters do not eat meat, so the food served at monasteries is

often some of the best vegetarian fare to be found anywhere in the country. Most

of what they do eat is culled from the well-tended gardens and groves that are

part of each monastery's land. It is custom, upon entering a monastery as a

visitor, to be offered something, usually a spoon sweet and homemade lemonade or

almond water (soumatha). I was with my know-everything-and-everyone-there is to

know guide to the island, Giorgos Giannikouris, when we visited the serene

Evangelismos Monastery, a beautiful Byzantine refuge run by a handful of

sisters. It was a late summer day, and the first early harvest pumpkins had just

been picked. Giorgos explained that I was collecting lost and obscure

traditional recipes. His mother had told me about this dish, and I had come here

in search of it. One of the sisters nodded her head, disappeared

for a few minutes and came back to the drawing room with a plate full of these

delicious, nugget-sized dolmathes. Another sister, the monastery cook, followed

her and gave me the recipe. "

 

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