Stuffed Grape Leaves

Well, I am officially an Arab Chef.  Just kidding, but I did successfully learn how to make stuffed grape leaves today :)  I am pretty sure that I would be able to do it again without any supervision (maybe).  My best friend here came over this morning to teach me how to make them.  She is amazing and very patient.  Conveniently enough, she is also the one teaching us Arabic so it works out pretty well.

So, for these stuffed grape leaves, you will need:

 rice without peels (I never even knew peels was an option), 

grape leaves, 

salt and pepper, 

bouillon cube, 

cardamom, 

tomatoes, 

garlic and 

onion

About an hour before you are going to start stuffing the grape leaves, you need to soak the rice in water to make it soft.  After an hour or so, drain the rice.  Add salt and pepper to taste, one bouillon cube and some cardamom (and meat if you like) to the rice.  Mix it together well.  Grab a big bowl and soak the grape leaves in medium warm water to help make them softer.  

Next you begin stuffing the grape leaves.  Just put a little bit of the rice on the vein side of the leaf.  Fold over the bottom edges and begin rolling.

It takes some time, but it is actually pretty fun.  It helps if you lay out a few grape leaves before you start stuffing, that way the stuffing goes faster.

After you have stuffed and rolled, place them in a pressure cooker.  You will probably have a couple of layers, so between layers put slices of tomato, onion and garlic.

Once you have finished all the leaves, add another bouillon cube, 2 tbs of olive oil and water.  You want to put in enough water to cover the first layer, but not completely submerge the second layer.

Now I have never cooked with a pressure cooker before.  Apparently if you want to cook anything Arab, you will need a pressure cooker.  I borrowed my friends :)  The pressure cooker is quite fun, especially at the end when you get to take the little nob off the top and all the air shoots out the top!

Cook it on low for 10 minutes or so then turn up the heat and cook for about an hour.  Turn down the heat after an hour and cook for another 15 minutes.  If you do not have a pressure cooker you will cover the leaves entirely in water and cook for 2 hours.  Let the pot rest for 10 minutes or so on no heat before attempting to open.  

Yum Yum!  Delicious stuffed grape leaves.  You just dump them out of here into a bowl of your choosing.  Depending on how sour your leaves are, you may need to add lemon to make them more delicious.  We added lemon, because lemon makes everything more delicious according to my friend.

In the states when I have had stuffed grape leaves, they have been as an appetizer or salad, but according to my friend they eat them as a main dish.  I guess they would be satisfying enough if they had meat in them.

Its been a crazy busy day and weekend!  We've had fun and had lots of good food.  Thankfully all gluten free (I hope).  Today I actually forgot we were in another country or away from home.  It feels good to finally be fitting in and feeling at home here.