Vine leaves - part one - dolmades

"Vine leaves are now indispensable to me - and I can't understand my earlier rejection of them. Sometimes life can be so busy that you don't see or appreciate the wealth around you." Maggie Beer

I was just flicking through Claudia Roden's Mediterranean Cookery before putting it away after my lucky dip the other day, when I saw this photograph which I found totally endearing - the smile on the seller's face, the flowers, the neatly rolled bundles and the edges of the leaves. Plus the distressed bit of blue wall which perfectly balances the flowers. It was perfect. So I thought I would try to write something inspired by this little scene from long, long ago. I wonder where he is now, the vine-leaf seller? I do not know where it was taken, but it was published back in 1987, so he would be an old man by now. And such a specific product to be selling.

I have a small climbing grape vine just outside my window in fact. I planted it many, many years ago but it has not flourished - of course. However, it is just big enough to provide one crop of leaves for dolmades, which I generally try to make once a year. It's not a fruiting vine, nor a very decorative one, and now that I think of it, I didn't actually plant it, the previous owners did. It's one of my 'once a year dishes' like ratatouille, cassoulet and choucroute. I only make them once because they are a bit fiddly and because you really need to make a lot of them - I see that I have written 'makes about 45' next to the recipe I use - Claudia Roden's from her original A Book of Middle Eastern Food. And I didn't make any this year. It's too late now, the leaves are turning colour and dropping to the ground Much too dry to use. I do have tins of dolmades in my pantry for emergency supplies but honestly, although they are perfectly acceptable they really don't taste the same as the ones you make yourself. So here is her recipe. It's long, and yes it is a bit time consuming but they are utterly delicious and worth the effort. Try it sometime when you are having a summer party. She describes it as "an exquisite dish in which the delicate aromas of the spices blend with the taste of the vine leaves against a background of acid lemon and sweet garlic."

You can, of course, use preserved vine leaves in jars. You blanch fresh ones, and soak preserved ones to remove the salt.

COLD STUFFED VINE LEAVES

I'm going to leave you to convert the quantities into the metric system that we now use.

1/2lb preserved, drained vine leaves

1/2 lb long-grain rice

2-3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped, or 4 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons dried crushed mint

1/4 level teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 level teaspoon ground allspice

salt and black pepper

2 tomatoes, sliced (optional)

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/4 pint olive oil

1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron (optional) 1 teaspoon sugar

juice of 1 lemon, or more

To soak preserved leaves, put them in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them. Make sure that the water penetrates well between the layers, and let the leaves soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Soak in fresh cold water, then drain agin, and repeat the process once more. This will remove excess salt. If using fresh vine leaves, soften them by plunging them, a few at a time, in boiling water for a few minutes until they become limp.

Soak and stir the rice in boiling water, and then rinse it under the cold tap. Drain it thoroughly. In a bowl, mix the rice with the tomatoes, onion or spring onions, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice and salt and pepper to taste.

Place one leaf on a plate vein side up. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the leaf near the stem edge. Fold the stem end up over the filling, then fold both sides towards the middle and roll up like a small cigar. Squeeze lightly in the palm of your hand. This process will become very easy after you have rolled a few. (They're somehow very satisfying to do. They roll up so neatly.)

Pack them tightly in a large pan lined with tomato slices or left-over, torn or imperfect vine leaves, occasionally slipping a whole clove of garlic in between them if you like. (I do use the tomatoes - squidgy ones will do, and indeed are probably better. You don't eat them but they impart flavour and liquid and stop the dolmades from burning. So particularly pay attention to the bottom of the pan. Depending on the size of the tomatoes you will probably need more than the two she suggests.)

Mix the olive oil with 1/4 pint water and the saffron, if used. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and pour the mixture over the stuffed leaves. Put a small plate on top of the leaves to prevent them unwinding, cover the pan, and simmer very gently for at least 2 hours, until the rolls are thoroughly cooked; add water occasionally, a coffee cup at a time, as the liquid in the pan becomes absorbed. Cool in the pan before turning out. Serve cold.

Persians like to add about 2 tablespoons chopped dill and 3 oz. seedless raisins or currants to the filling. Another variation which adds a new element to the texture uses hummus or chick peas. Soak about 2 oz in water overnight. Then crush them in a mortar and add them to the filling. In this case use 2 oz. less rice. Pine nuts (about 2 oz) can also be added, and makes a delicious variation.

I generally serve mine with a bowl of yoghurt for dipping, but you could vary this too. And you can squeeze more lemon juice over them if you don't think they taste lemony enough.

Hot stuffed vine leaves generally contain meat and although, I have made these I have not done it as often. I think I prefer the cold ones too.

There are lots of variations out there of course - almost entirely with the filling - and here are some of those.

Yotam Ottolenghi - of course. Click on his name and you will find his recipe for the basic type - whose filling is a bit different - it includes pomegranate molasses and sumac. He also has a recipe for Stuffed vine leaves with liver and apple - chicken livers that is and I guess if that is your thing you could try it. Not mine though.

Greg Malouf has a recipe for Chicken and pistachio dolmades which sounds pretty tempting. He also lines the pan with tomatoes I notice.

With sour cherries - I gather this is a Turkish variation, though I note that Ottolenghi went for pomegranates in his version. Said to be very delicious.

Maggie Beer on the other hand doesn't even cook hers. Well if she wants to serve them warm she heats them in the oven for 10 minutes or so. I think this depends entirely on using very young and very tender vine leaves though, or you should be using her verjuice poached vine leaves. I think this is what she means although she doesn't mention it. To poach them you just put them into boiling verjuice (and a little water) and cook for 1-3 minutes depending on the age of the leaves. Obviously the rice she uses for her stuffing is already cooked. She then adds flavourings - she suggests, caramelised onion, currants, pine nuts, preserved lemon fennel fronds or mint leaves, but obviously you can do whatever you like. To serve you just brush them with olive oil - or brush with oil and bake for about 10 minutes. I can't imagine that they are any good if not cooked for some time. But this is Maggie Beer so I could be wrong.

Really though it's one of those dishes you can have fun with. Once you've mastered the basics, the filling is up to you.

Dolmades by the way seem to have been first served back in the royal court of Persia in the seventh century so they are a very ancient thing. And The Maloufs are right. We don't make enough of vine leaves. You should be able to buy them fresh from a lovely guy like the one in my original picture. I have never seen them sold like this in the Queen Vic Market where you can get most things.

Of course you can do a lot of other things with vine leaves. And I will tell you about that in tomorrow's post.