Sweet And Sour Stuffed Grape Leaves Food

SWEET AND SOUR STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, and simmer until a thin syrup forms, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 1/2 cups of the rice, and salt. Boil until rice is al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain and let rice cool.
• In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, heat oil and add onions. Sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add raisins and barberries and sauté a minute or two. Add rice, sour salt, lemon powder or lemon juice, and 2 to 3 tablespoons vinegar syrup (enough for a balance of sweet and sour). Save remaining syrup.
• Pour 1/2 cup water into a heavy 5-quart pot and scatter in remaining 3 tablespoons rice, to prevent leaves from sticking to pot. On a work surface, place a grape leaf dull side up, and place 1 tablespoon of rice mixture close to the stem. Fold over both sides of leaf and roll up to close. Place seam side down in pot, continuing until there is a single tightly packed layer. Scatter half the apricots and prunes on top. Make a second layer and scatter remaining fruit on top.
• Add 1/4 cup water to reserved syrup and pour over stuffed grape leaves. Place small heat-proof plate on leaves as weight. Cover pot tightly, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until leaves are tender, about 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SWEET AND SOUR STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Bring the rice and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Boil the heads of cabbage, one at a time, until softened but still firm, about 5 minutes. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes.
• Combine the ground beef, eggs, cooked rice, 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup ketchup in a bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined.
• Prepare the cabbage leaves by shaving a slice off of the large vein in the center of the leaves so they'll be easier to roll. Place a heaping spoonful of the filling in the center of the leaf. Fold in the left and right edges and roll up the leaf from the bottom, forming a tight cylinder. Secure with toothpicks if necessary. Continue filling and rolling the leaves; save the smaller cabbage leaves and set them aside.
• Chop the reserved cabbage leaves. Place the chopped cabbage in a large pot. Add the sliced onion, crushed tomatoes, raisins, sour salt (citric acid powder), salt and pepper, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder. Stir in 1/2 cup of white sugar and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Taste the sauce and adjust the sweetness, if desired, by adding the additional 1/2 cup of sugar. Place the cabbage rolls into the sauce. Pour the remaining 1 cup of ketchup on top of the rolls. Cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cook the rolls for 3 hours, basting the rolls every half hour.

GRILLED BEEF IN GRAPE LEAVES WITH SWEET, SOUR, AND SPICY DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Soak the grape leaves in several changes of water to get rid of the brine flavor. Separate the leaves and blot dry. Trim any stems and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the beef, shallot, sugar, lemongrass, garlic, and fish sauce. Mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Divide the beef mixture into 32 equal portions (about 1 tablespoon per portion). Place a grape leaf flat (widest side closest to you) on a clean kitchen towel. Shape 1 meat mixture into a 1 1/2-inch-long sausage and place it horizontally across the wide end of the leaf. Fold the wide end over the filling once. Fold the sides in and roll up as you would a spring roll, enclosing the meat. The roll should be compact and fairly tight. Repeat to make 32 rolls.
• Thread 4 grape leaf rolls on 2 parallel bamboo skewers, leaving space in between the rolls. Repeat with remaining skewers and rolls. Brush each roll with vegetable oil. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Grill the rolls, flipping them once the oil becomes shiny, until crisp and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve with Sweet, Sour, and Spicy Dipping Sauce.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, and fish sauce, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and chiles. Let stand for 20 minutes before serving. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Yield: 6 servings

LEBANESE STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, rice, garlic powder, allspice, salt, pepper, and cinnamon, and set aside.
• Rinse grape leaves several times. If the leaves are small, leave them intact, but cut out the large center vein. If the leaves are large, cut them in half vertically, cutting out the large vein in the process. Place a small amount of the ground meat mixture at the end of each leaf. Roll up egg-roll style.
• Pour the oil into the bottom of a large Dutch oven. Lay the chops over the oil. Lay the tomato slices over the chops.
• Place the stuffed grape leaves seam-side down on top of the chops. Pack the leaves tightly and begin a second layer when necessary. Place whole garlic cloves randomly between the rolled leaves; plenty of garlic on each layer.
• When you are done stacking, pour the lemon juice over the leaves, and add water to the pot to about 2-inches above the rolled leaves. To prevent the leaves from unrolling during cooking, place a plate on top of the stack of leaves and place a heavy object on top of the plate.
• Simmer the leaves over low heat for about 2 hours.
• Invert the entire Dutch oven into a large platter with high sides (i.e. a 12-inch round cake pan). Or, remove the leaves from the pot with tongs. Serve rustic style, with plenty of Arabic bread on which to spread the garlic!

SWEET AND SOUR STUFFED CABBAGE

Steps:

• Cook cored cabbage about 10 minutes or until limp in boiling water. Drain leaves and dry with paper towel.
• Combine beef, salt, pepper, rice and egg.
• Add sauteed onions to beef mixture and mix well. Set aside.
• Place a small portion (3 tbsps.) of mixture in each cabbage leaf.
• Roll up and secure with toothpicks,.
• Repeat until all cabbage leaves are full.
• In a greased roasting pan, spread 1 1/2 cups chopped onion evenly and arrange cabbage rolls in neat rows on top of onion.
• Combine chili sauce and grape jelly in a 2 quart saucepan with 2 tbsps. of water; heat over medium heat and stir to melt jelly.
• Pour the sauce over rolls.
• Cover pan tightly with foil.
• Bake 2 hours at 375 degrees.
• Remove foil; brush rolls with sauce, bake uncovered 40 minutes longer or until sauce is thick and cabbage rolls are glazed.
• Serve with sauce spooned over rolls.