Stuffed Sardines on Grape Leaves
Stuffed Artichokes, Olive Oil Style
Stuffed Peppers and Eggplant (Yalancı Dolma)
Stuffed Grape Leaves with Olive Oil (Yaprak Sarma)
Grape Leaves Stuffed with Meat and Rice (Etli Yaprak Sarma)
Tokat-Style Meatless Grape-Leaf Rolls
Grape Leaves Stuffed with Lor Cheese
Cabbage Rolls Stuffed with Meat (Etli Lahana Sarma)
Grilled Halloumi and Pastırma Grape-Leaf Wrap
Many vegetables from peppers to leeks, from okra to cucumbers, have stuffed versions in Turkish cuisine. The reason these dishes are designated with the internationally recognized Turkish word dolma is the method of their preparation. However, not all stuffed or wrapped vegetables are dolma in Turkey. Dishes made by wrapping a filling in chard, grape leaves, cabbage, or mallow are called sarma because they are wrapped, not stuffed.
Dolma are divided into two groups: those with meat and those with olive oil. The meatless ones cooked with olive oil are also known as yalancı (“imitation”). The filling of dolma cooked with meat and butter always includes rice or bulgur. Bulgur sometimes replaces rice, and there are regional variations in which meat is replaced with other ingredients—cornmeal in the Bolu in the Marmara region or curd cheese in the Erzurum in the eastern part of Turkey. But the glory of dolma, and sarmas too, comes from the rice.
Rice, the major ingredient in dolma, was first brought to Anatolia in the fourteenth century and held a special place in Turkish culture and cuisine. While Asian rice was the staple food of the Ottoman army, it was still used only as medicine in the Western world. And, as Ibn Battuta, an intrepid fourteenth-century Moroccan traveler, revealed, butter, flour, and rice were the traditional Turkish traveling provisions. The variety of rice dishes served in the palace of Sultan Mehmet, the fifteenth-century conqueror of Istanbul, included rice with chickpeas, cooked rice, rice soup, a rice dish eaten in the mornings, and a saffron and rice dessert that eventually made rice popular in the West. During this era, Westerners referred to pilaf, the most ubiquitous Turkish rice dish, as “Turkish rice.” Summarizing the Turks’ affinity for rice, explorer Pietro della Valle wrote, “If it does not contain rice, it is not called a Turkish dish.”
WHILE TURKS consider stuffed mussels to be a great appetizer, it is also a wonderful fast food sold by street vendors and eaten on the run. Turks tend to frequent their own regular vendors, and purchasing and eating the mussels is a sort of street ritual in Istanbul. The vendor serves with flair, giving the mussels a squeeze of lemon juice as he hands them over. No fork is necessary! The diner uses the top half of the shell for a spoon. The stuffing in this recipe includes currants and pine nuts, if you want to make it Istanbul style, but you may also use plain rice cooked in olive oil (Aegean style).
FOR THE ISTANBUL-STYLE STUFFING
1 cup (240 ml) virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
2½ cups (500 g) medium-grain rice
1 teaspoon ground cassia, if available (optional; see this page)
4 tablespoons dried currants (optional)
30 large fresh mussels, still in the shell (if using small mussels, you’ll need more; see Note)
10 to 15 lemon wedges for serving
Make the stuffing: Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until transparent. Add the pine nuts, if using, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the rice and sauté until the rice sizzles. Add the cassia (if using), allspice, pepper, and currants (if using); stir well and add 2¼ cups (540 ml) water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat until the rice grains are al dente. Remove from the heat, cover, and let cool.
Prepare the mussels: Scrub the mussel shells until clean. With a small sharp knife, open the shells halfway, but leave them attached. Wash the insides of the shells without damaging the meat, then stuff with the rice mixture.
Put a strainer or colander in a pot and arrange the mussels in the strainer, open ends facing upward. Add 1 cup (240 ml) water to the pot, and instead of using a lid, carefully and completely cover the mussels with a thoroughly moistened piece of parchment paper. Cook over very low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rice is thoroughly cooked (check by lifting up a corner of the parchment). If the rice is still not tender, re-cover and cook until done. (The water added should be thoroughly evaporated; if necessary, sprinkle with ¼ cup/60 ml tepid water and cover tightly again to lengthen the cooking time.) Let the mussels cool, then arrange on a serving dish. Serve with the lemon wedges.
Note: To have a few extra mussels is always a good idea; it is very easy to divide the stuffing among them and you can easily end up using it all.
Stuffed Sardines on Grape Leaves
STUFFED MACKEREL used to be a classic dish in Istanbul. There are still a few chefs who prepare it, but most are put off by the idea of deboning the fish. I got the idea of stuffing sardines instead from Sicilian cooking, and I had fun adapting the recipe to Turkish cuisine. I substituted rice for bread, and I thought using grape leaves was a good idea—especially since they appear in the markets at the same time that the sardines begin to run.
½ recipe stuffing for Istanbul-Style Stuffing (this page), cooled
1 cup (20 g) fresh parsley leaves, minced
½ cup (10 g) fresh fennel fronds, if available, minced (optional)
18 sardines, cleaned and deboned
18 fresh grape leaves (see Notes)
Juice of 1 bitter orange (see Notes)
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Generously grease a baking pan.
Combine the stuffing, parsley, and fennel, if using.
Place a sardine, stomach side up, on a grape leaf. Spoon as much cooled stuffing mixture as you can into the fish’s cavity. Wrap up the sardine and stuffing in the leaf and place on the prepared pan. (The head of the fish should peek out of the leaf.) Repeat with all the sardines and grape leaves, arranging rolls on the prepared baking pan so that they touch one another. Whisk together the bitter orange juice and oil and brush on the rolls. Arrange the orange slices over the rolls. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, then turn off the oven and let the sardines sit in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes: If fresh grape leaves are not available, you can substitute brined grape leaves.
Bitter oranges are also called Seville oranges; their juice is very acidic and aromatic. In Turkey, only their peels are used for making jam. If you can’t find bitter oranges, you can use the juice of 1 regular orange plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
Stuffed Artichokes, Olive Oil Style
MY MOTHER was very conservative about food. She rarely liked food that others had prepared, and even more rarely did she ask for a recipe. İzmir-style stuffed artichokes was on the list of great dishes my mother learned to cook later in her life. Her artichoke dolma was very successful because of her expertise with other olive oil dolma. I replicated her recipe by taste; the only change I made was the addition of green onions.
½ cup (120 ml) virgin olive oil
1½ cups (300 g) medium-grain rice, washed
1 cup (20 g) fresh dill, chopped
In a pot, sauté the minced onion in the oil, add the green onions, and cook until the minced onion is translucent. Add the rice and sauté over medium heat. Add ½ cup (120 ml) water, cover, and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice begins to swell (it will not be tender yet). Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the dill and mint, remove from the heat, and let cool.
Fill a bowl with cold water and add half of the lemon juice. Trim the artichokes by removing all the outer leaves, cutting down to the heart, and retaining the soft inner leaves. Cut off any remaining thick, hard pieces; trim off the stem for a flat bottom. Remove the hard inner leaves, spoon out the choke, and discard it. Wash the artichokes and place in the lemon water.
Stuff the artichokes with spoonfuls of the rice mixture, tapping the artichoke on the work surface so the rice grains settle but aren’t compressed. Keep the other artichokes in the lemon water so they don’t brown.
Pack the stuffed artichokes beside each other in a pot. Pour 2 cups (480 ml) cold water in the pot and place the pot over medium heat. Whisk together the egg and the remaining lemon juice and, when the water begins to steam (in 4 to 5 minutes), brush the egg mixture on top of the artichokes. Cover the pot and cook over low heat, 30 to 35 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. If the artichokes are tender and there is still too much liquid in the pot, uncover and let the liquid evaporate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Stuffed Peppers and Eggplant (Yalancı Dolma)
IN TURKISH yalancı means “imitation”—or, literally “liar”! This meatless stuffed vegetable dish may rightly be called “imitation,” since it appeared after the original version with meat in the filling. The Spanish prisoner of war Pedro raves about the meat version in his sixteenth-century manuscript, but no document mentions meatless stuffed peppers and eggplants until the nineteenth century. Coincidentally, dishes made with olive oil began to appear at the same time.
Turkish bell peppers are light green and have very thin skins. They also have a delicate fragrance that can be destroyed if too many spices are added to the filling. Outside of Istanbul, the filling is seasoned only with black pepper. In Istanbul, however, cooks use currants, pine nuts, sugar, and spices. Restaurants generally do not add tomatoes (for fear that the filling they stuff will go bad too quickly); they make do with spices.
10 medium green bell peppers (1½ pounds/680 g total)
2 large or 3 medium onions, coarsely chopped (plus 1 more onion if you add the Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning to the dish)
1½ cups (360 ml) virgin olive oil
1¾ cups (350 g) medium-grain rice, rinsed well and drained
2 tomatoes, cut in half and grated, peel reserved (see Notes, this page)
1 cup (20 g) minced fresh parsley
1 cup (20 g) fresh dill leaves (optional)
1 recipe Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning (see Notes, this page, optional)
Cut the eggplants in half and hollow them out with a knife. (In Turkey we have a special utensil to hollow out eggplants, but a sharp paring knife will do.) Chop the eggplant flesh you removed, sparsely salt it, and set aside. Cut the tops off the peppers. (You also can remove the tops by pressing gently all around the stem part with your thumb, as we do in Turkey. This will break off the stem from the pepper.) Cut off the seedy part and reserve the tops. Remove the seeds and pith from the hollowed-out peppers. Wash the peppers and the eggplants. Drain the peppers upside down for about 10 minutes, or until all the water has drained out. Sparsely salt the peppers all over, using your fingertip to distribute the salt. Salt the eggplants, leaving them open side up, to extract the water. Turn them upside down after about 5 minutes to drain this juice. The vegetables are now ready to be filled.
In a heavy skillet, sauté the onions and pine nuts, if using Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning, in the oil until the onions are translucent. Add the rice, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Stir thoroughly and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. When the tomato liquid is almost entirely absorbed, add ½ cup (120 ml) tepid water and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice grains are nearly al dente, then squeeze the excess juice from the chopped eggplant and add it to the skillet, along with the parsley, mint, and dill, if using, and black pepper. Add the Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning, if using. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 15 minutes to allow the rice to cook further and absorb any juices that may not be visible.
Using a spoon, pack the filling into the peppers and hollowed-out eggplants, leaving no empty spaces. (Tap the bottom of the peppers to ensure that the rice has settled.) Cover the eggplants with thin slices of the reserved tomato peel and cover the peppers with their cut-off tops.
Arrange the stuffed vegetables in a single layer in a pot. Add 1½ cups (360 ml) water, cover the pot, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes over high heat (see Notes). Continue cooking for 20 minutes over medium heat and then 15 minutes over low heat. (If the water has boiled away before the 20 minutes of cooking, add ½ cup/120 ml water. If there is still too much liquid after the vegetables are cooked, uncover and increase the heat to high so the water boils away.) Serve hot.
Notes: To grate a tomato, cut it crosswise in half so that the stem is on one half and the bottom part with no stem composes the other half. This way, when you grate the flesh, the peel is left in your palm, without tearing.
The peppers and eggplants will give away water once cooking starts that becomes part of the cooking liquid—that is why not much cooking water is added. Also, do not be surprised by the large amount of oil. The rice requires a lot of oil, and it is the oil that blends with all the other ingredients in the filling to make this a memorable dish.
KALE IS ONE of the healthiest greens we know and very trendy to eat these days; the leaves are also very easy to work with. The people of the Black Sea region have been using it for ages in many of their dishes. That cornmeal is used instead of rice also makes it very typically Karadenizli (from Black Sea).
20 kale leaves, all the size of your palm (if smaller, increase the number; you may use two leaves together or make smaller dolma)
1 pound (448 g) medium-fat ground beef
1 tablespoon corn oil or butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground allspice (optional)
½ teaspoon black pepper (use 1 teaspoon black pepper if optional allspice is omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
Double the recipe to serve as a main dish
Blanch the kale leaves in hot water for 30 seconds, then run them under cold water. Let them sit in a colander to drain until ready to use. Mix together the ground beef, cornmeal, oil or butter, onion, allspice (if using), pepper, and garlic (if using) and season with salt. Add up to ⅓ cup (75 ml) water to loosen up the mixture.
Lay a leaf with the stem end facing you and place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling on the leaf. Pull the stem end up and over the filling and roll to the end of the leaf. Continue with the remaining leaves and filling.
Place the filled kale leaves close to one another in a pot. After placing a small plate on top of the dolma, add 1⅓ cups (315 ml) warm water and cook over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes. The water will have been absorbed. (Add about ⅓ cup/75 ml or more water if the liquid is absorbed before the cooking is finished.)
Stuffed Grape Leaves with Olive Oil (Yaprak Sarma)
YAPRAK SARMA, rolled or stuffed grape leaves, have always been and still are indispensable, as both an appetizer and a side dish. My mother used to boast about being able to roll them almost as thin and long as a pencil. You could pick one up, always by hand, and finish it in three or four bites. Alas, nowadays, they make them much smaller, just enough for a bite, so that you are tempted to grab a plateful of them to ensure that you’ll be satisfied. Here, I share two different recipes for stuffing. The Aegean-style stuffing has a clean flavor; the taste of the grape leaves comes across best if you use fresh ones. On the other hand, the Istanbul-style stuffing, a variation on the Aegean, is more sophisticated and complex.
1¼ cups (300 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2½ cups (500 g) medium-grain rice
1 large tomato (or 2 medium), halved and grated (optional; see Notes, this page)
⅓ cup (7 g) minced fresh dill (optional)
½ cup (10 g) fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Salt and black pepper or Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning (optional; see Notes, this page)
11 ounces (310 g) fresh grape leaves, soaked; or 22 ounces preserved grape leaves, dipped in salted water (see Notes, this page, for further instructions)
In a large frying pan, sauté the onions in the oil over medium heat until translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the rice, sauté briefly over low heat, then add the tomato (if using), dried mint, dill, and parsley and cook, stirring constantly. Add ½ cup (120 ml) water and continue stirring. Season with salt and pepper or Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning. Cover the pan, remove from the heat, and let stand for about 10 minutes to let the stuffing cool and the rice fluff.
Remove the stems from the grape leaves. Arrange the leaves on a plate, stem side facing you (shiny side down). Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of filling on a leaf (the amount will differ according to the size of the leaf, but be generous with the filling, especially if you are using preserved leaves), and then roll the leaf up tightly. Repeat with the remaining leaves, using the large, tough leaves to line the bottom of a large pot (or line the pot with parsley stems or lemon slices).
Arrange the rolls on the lining in the pot, packing them tightly together, and then weigh the rolls down with a heavy plate. Add 1½ cups (360 ml) water and cover the pot tightly. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 to 45 minutes, until almost all the liquid is absorbed. (If the rolls are cooked but there is still too much liquid in the pot, remove the lid and allow the liquid to boil away until the bottom is almost scorched. This adds an extra deliciousness.) Remove from the heat and let sit for 2 hours. Invert the pot onto a serving dish or, better yet, arrange the rolls one by one on a platter.
Notes: If you prefer spicy stuffing you can leave out the tomato; instead add ⅓ cup (75 ml) more water to precook the rice partially.
To make Istanbul-Style Stuffing Seasoning, combine 3 tablespoons pine nuts, ¼ cup (35 g) dried currants, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1 teaspoon sugar.
If using fresh grape leaves, dip them briefly in plenty of hot salted water for not more than 30 seconds. When using preserved leaves, soak them in plenty of cold water for 30 minutes to take out the extra salt, and rinse under running water before rolling.
When making stuffed or rolled vegetables, you often have leftover stuffing and no more veggies to stuff. This dilemma led me to explore alternative wraps. When I happened upon the idea of stuffing lettuce leaves, it turned out to be delicious. You may be similarly inspired to experiment—after all, cherry leaves were once used to make sarma with meat stuffing. For this preparation, you will need 1 head romaine lettuce.
Remove and discard the outside leaves from the romaine. Break off the rest of the leaves, leaving them whole; wash and pat dry. Dip the leaves in hot water (this is to soften them and make them easier to roll), then stuff and roll the leaves. (A large leaf is perfect for one roll. If the leaves are small, overlap two.) Tightly pack the stuffed leaves into the pot so they hold each other together.
Grape Leaves Stuffed with Meat and Rice (Etli Yaprak Sarma)
THIS DISH is so tasty, its fame is well earned. No wedding banquet in Turkey is prepared without it, and it is still the star of traditional banquet tables. Many countries that were once part of the Ottoman Empire still cook this meaty concoction. On a visit to Romania, I learned that it is the national dish, served with yogurt and garlic sauce, just as we do. Greeks serve it with lemon and egg sauce instead.
FOR THE YOGURT AND GARLIC SAUCE
1 cup (240 ml) plain Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic and 1 teaspoon salt, crushed with a mortar and pestle
10½ ounces (300 g) fresh grape leaves, or 1 pound brined grape leaves, stems removed and reserved
1 pound (455 g) ground lamb or veal or a combination (lamb delivers a fuller taste)
⅓ cup (65 g) medium-grain rice, washed in a sieve
1 cup (10 g) minced fresh parsley leaves (optional)
½ cup (10 g) minced dill (optional)
1 large onion, minced or grated
1 medium tomato, halved and grated (see Note, this page)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (olive oil may substituted, but butter supplies a more fulfilling taste)
2 tablespoons browned butter (optional; see Note)
Make the yogurt and garlic sauce: Beat together the yogurt and garlic, then let sit at room temperature.
Make the grape leaves: Blanch fresh grape leaves in boiling water for a few seconds to soften them. (If using brined leaves, soak them for at least 30 minutes in lots of warm water, then wash each leaf to remove the salt.) In a large bowl, combine the lamb, rice, parsley (if using), dill (if using), mint, onion, tomato, and butter, and season with salt and pepper. If the filling is too thick, add a few spoonfuls of water. (A looser filling gives a softer texture.)
Arrange a grape leaf on the work surface, shiny side down, stem end facing you. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling on the side of the leaf nearest to you (the amount will differ depending on size of leaf, but be generous, especially if you are using preserved leaves); make sure to leave ½ inch (12 mm) on both sides too, which will be used to cover the filling. Roll the grape leaves: Secure the sides by folding them over the filling, then tightly wrap the stem side of the leaf over the filling and start rolling away from you, as tightly as you can, enclosing the filling as you go to create a tight bundle. (Aesthetically, the bundle should be rather slim, not plump.) Repeat with the remaining grape leaves and filling. Line the bottom of a pot with the reserved grape leaf stems.
Pack the rolls tightly in the pot, add 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water, weigh the rolls down with a heavy plate, and cover the pot tightly. Cook for 5 minutes, until the water is absorbed (this step ensures that the leaves will not open up!). Pour the 2½ cups (600 ml) hot water over the plate and cook for 30 minutes, until almost all the liquid is absorbed. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with the browned butter, if desired, and serve with the yogurt sauce.
Note: To brown the butter, heat it over medium heat until it gives off a nice aroma and is almost brown. Pour into a heatproof cup; if it is kept on the heat or in the hot pan too long, the particles in the butter will burn and make it bitter.
Tokat-Style Meatless Grape-Leaf Rolls
THIS DELICIOUS dish is from Tokat, a city that’s situated on the border of the Middle Anatolia and Black Sea regions. This recipe is sure to become a favorite of vegetable lovers, as it pairs fresh fennel fronds with fresh or dried fava beans, but any other aromatic greens you favor may be used instead. Be sure to use only the freshest spices. Tokat is also famous for its grape leaves, as they are thin and the veins are hardly visible. In fact, they are the most sought-after grape leaves in Turkey because they turn a nice golden color once cooked.
1 cup (125 g) shelled fresh fava (broad) beans, coarsely chopped (see Notes)
Large pinch of minced wild fennel (see Notes)
1 teaspoon mild red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tomato or red-pepper paste, dissolved in 1 cup warm water
1 pound (455 g) very fresh grape leaves, briefly blanched
3 to 4 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
1 tablespoon tomato or red-pepper paste
About 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
Mix together the beans, bulgur, fennel, red pepper flakes, cumin, and salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl; add the diluted tomato or red-pepper paste. The filling should be runny.
Make the stuffed grape leaves: Arrange a grape leaf on the work surface, shiny side down, stem end facing you. Place 1 heaping tablespoon filling on the side of the leaf nearest to you (the amount will differ depending on size of leaf, but be generous, especially if you are using preserved leaves); make sure to leave ½ inch (12 mm) on both sides too, which will be used to cover the filling. Roll the grape leaves: Secure the sides by folding them over the filling, then tightly wrap the stem side of the leaf over the filling and start rolling away from you, as tightly as you can, enclosing the filling as you go to create a tight bundle. (Aesthetically, the bundle should be slim, not plump.) Repeat with the remaining grape leaves and filling. Pack the rolls tightly in the pot.
Make the cooking liquid: Fry the onion in the oil until translucent, then stir in the tomato or red-pepper paste. Pour in the warm water and bring to a boil. Pour enough of the liquid into the pot to just cover the rolls, weighing them down with a heavy plate so they don’t open during cooking. Cook over medium heat for 40 to 45 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rolls are cooked through. (Stuffed vegetables should never be cooked in too much water or at too high a temperature. If the water has boiled away and the rolls are still not cooked, add more water.) Serve warm.
Notes: Dried green lentils or dried fava beans may be substituted. Soak for 2 to 3 hours in warm water before chopping.
When you find fresh wild fennel, buy a bunch, blanch it, and store in batches in the freezer to use as needed. You may use mint, purple basil, or dill as a substitute.
Grape Leaves Stuffed with Lor Cheese
EXCITING AND exotic for vegetarians, this dish features truly nomadic ingredients. It’s from Erzurum, a city right in the heart of eastern Anatolia. Lor is a curd cheese; the preferred kind contains some fat and has a sweetish taste. If you can’t locate lor, you can substitute ricotta cheese.
7 ounces (200 g) fresh grape leaves, or 10½ ounces (300 g) brined grape leaves, or 9 ounces (255 g) Swiss chard
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 pound (455 g/1 cup) lor cheese
1 pound (455 g/1 cup) skim-milk cottage cheese, strained if too watery
1 cup (240 ml) warm milk or stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed with a mortar and pestle
1 cup (240 ml) plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons browned butter (see Note, this page)
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Blanch fresh grape leaves in boiling water for a few seconds to soften them. (If using brined leaves, soak them for at least 30 minutes in lots of warm water, then wash each leaf to remove the salt. If using chard, blanch the leaves for a few seconds.)
Sauté the onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the bulgur, lor cheese, and cottage cheese to make the filling.
Place a grape leaf on a flat surface, shiny side down. Arrange 1 heaping tablespoon stuffing on the edge of the leaf closest to you, about ½ inch (12 mm) away from the edge; make sure it is also about ½ inch (12 mm) away from both sides. To roll the grape leaf, first secure the two sides by folding the extra part of the leaf in over the stuffing, then start rolling the leaf away from you to enclose the stuffing, as tightly as you can. Arrange the stuffed leaves in an ungreased casserole dish. Pour the warm milk or stock over the rolls, dot with the butter, cover, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes for the flavors to meld (also the yogurt sauce will curdle if the grape leaf rolls are too hot). Whisk together the garlic and yogurt, then pour the yogurt mixture over the grape leaves. Top with the browned butter, sprinkle with pepper, and serve.
Cabbage Rolls Stuffed with Meat (Etli Lahana Sarma)
STUFFING CABBAGE leaves with a meat and rice filling was probably adopted after the Turks conquered the Balkans in the fourteenth century, and then passed along to the Swedes, who make a similar dish they call kaldolmar. After losing a war with the Russians, the Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in Turkey en route to his home, and his cooks stayed on for a while as guests of the sultan. Either the cooks really liked the dish or it was served to them far too often, because they brought the method back to their own country. I find cabbage rolls easier to prepare than grape-leaf rolls: Even if not uniform in shape, cabbage leaves cook up nicely and assume a convenient shape for rolling. In Turkey, cabbage rolls are served with lemon, unlike grape-leaf rolls, which are always served with garlic-yogurt sauce.
1 cup (20 g) fresh parsley leaves, chopped, with stems reserved
1 medium green cabbage (with loose, not tightly packed, leaves)
1 tablespoon butter or sunflower oil
1 pound (455 g) ground lamb or veal (or a mixture of the two)
¾ cup (150 g) rice, washed in a sieve
½ teaspoon white or black pepper
Line the bottom of a pot with the reserved parsley stems; set aside. Remove the cabbage leaves from the core (without tearing them) until you get to the small leaves surrounding the core. In a large pot, parboil the leaves only until soft enough to roll. Sauté the onion in the butter or oil in a frying pan until soft. Add the tomato paste and sauté until aromatic. Remove from the heat and let cool. Add the meat, rice, allspice, pepper, salt to taste, and parsley leaves and knead with you hands until uniform. If the stuffing mixture is too stiff, add a few tablespoons water. (A looser filling gives a softer texture.)
Cut the cabbage leaves into uniform-size rectangles. Place a generous spoonful of filling on the bottom edge of a rectangle and roll it up tightly. Pack the rolls firmly into the parsley-lined pot and weigh them down with a heavy plate. Add enough hot water just to cover the rolls and cook over medium heat for 40 minutes. Let the rolls cool, then sprinkle them with lemon juice just before serving.
Grilled Halloumi and Pastırma Grape-Leaf Wrap
THIS GIFT from Anya von Bremzen to the appetizer world is a result of our endless discussions about the culinary arts. Since she has written many books about several cuisines, she comes up with the most fascinating combinations using indigenous ingredients, as in this simple meze with a complex taste, which she created using common Turkish ingredients. Here pastırma and halloumi, a hard and salty but meltable cheese from Cyprus, are wrapped and grilled in grape leaves and dressed with two native ingredients: pomegranate syrup and pekmez. For another delicious pastırma recipe, see Amulet-Shaped Pastırma Pies on this page.
12 finger-length pieces pastırma (spicy air-dried beef)
12 finger-length pieces halloumi cheese, or any meltable hard cheese, such as pecorino
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 tablespoons pomegranate syrup (see this page)
¼ teaspoon pekmez (see this page)
Soak the leaves in the hot water for 5 minutes to rinse off the salt. (If the leaves are still salty, let soak a while longer). Remove the leaves from the hot water, rinse with cold water, and drain on paper towels. On each leaf, shiny side down, place 1 piece of pastırma and 1 piece of halloumi on top of each other. (If the cheese extends beyond the edges of the grape leaves, cut it off.) Wrap as described in Stuffed Grape Leaves with Olive Oil (this page), and drizzle a little oil over them.
Preheat the broiler to medium. Place the wraps under the broiler and broil on each side for 1½ minutes, or until the cheese is melted (see Note). Whisk together the oil with the pomegranate syrup, pekmez, and 1 tablespoon water. Arrange the wraps on a serving platter, pour the dressing over them, and serve.
Note: The wraps also can be pan-fried or cooked in a sandwich grill, taking care not to crush them.
