Make Vegetarian Stuffed Grape Leaves

Ground beef is often used to stuff grape leaves, but if you’re vegan or vegetarian, you can easily substitute that with chickpeas! First you need to blend those up and prepare the rest of your filling. Once that’s done, you just have to fill and roll your leaves up like burritos. After that, all you have to do is layer them in a pot and cook them in water before serving.

Ingredients

• 1 1-lb. jar brined grape leaves (500 g)
• 1.5 cups  basmati rice
• 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon dried mint, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
• 3 to 5 sprigs fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• 2 lemons
• 2 cups vegetable stock (473 ml)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 to 2 cups water (237 to 473 ml)

Steps

Making Your Filling

1. Blend your chickpeas. Drain and rinse your chickpeas in a colander. Then transfer them to a food processor. Blend on pulse until they’re crumbly.
2. Saute your onion and rice. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with cooking oil. Set the burner to medium heat and add the chopped onions once the oil has heated. Saute until they turn translucent (about five minutes). Stir in the rice, adding more oil as needed to coat them. Cook for another minute.
3. Add the tomatoes, herbs, and chickpeas. Grate the tomatoes into a pulp, either directly over the skillet or in a small mixing bowl. Stir the pulp into the rice and onions. Next, stir in the parsley, dill, and mint, followed by the chickpeas.
4. Zest-a-Lemon and Juice-a-Lemon one lemon, then season with salt and pepper. Reserve one of your lemons for later. Zest and juice the other into the mixture. Once that’s done, add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add vegetable stock and cook. Pour the vegetable stock into the mixture and stir the mixture so it’s evenly distributed in the stock. Then cover the skillet and cook for roughly ten minutes, or until the liquid has reduced. Once it has, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Filling and Rolling Your Leaves

1. Prepare your assembly line. While the mixture cools off, set up your assembly line for filling your grape leaves. Place a cutting board, parchment paper, or something similar in between the skillet and a large pot. Then line the bottom of the pot with any leaves that are too torn up to use, plus a few lemon slices from your second lemon, to keep the leaves from burning while cooking.
   • If you don’t have enough leaves or lemon slices to cover the whole bottom, slice up a couple of medium-sized potatoes and cover them the bottom with those instead.
2. Begin filling your leaves. Wait for the mixture to cool enough to handle safely with your fingers. Then, for each leaf, remove the stem and place the leaf before you, with its glossier side facing down. Top the bottom of the leaf with roughly a teaspoon of the mixture.
   • Err on the side of too little filling than too much, because the rice will continue to expand when you cook it in the pot.
3. Roll each leaf once you’ve filled it. Roll from the bottom up until you reach midway up the leaf. Fold the sides in so the filling doesn’t spill out. Continue rolling all the way up to the top, tucking the sides in as needed to keep them closed.
4. Layer your pot with rolled leaves. As you finish rolling each leaf, place it in the pot with the open seam facing down. This way the weight of the leaves will keep the seam from unrolling. Fit as many leaves as you can along the pot’s bottom. Then start a second layer of leaves on top of the first.
   • Packing them into the pot as tightly as possible will also keep them from unrolling. So, if you don’t have enough leaves to make a full top layer, continue placing them right next to each other, rather than spread them apart.

Cooking and Serving Your Leaves

1. Add a plate and water to the pot. Place a plate on top of the leaves to keep the leaves in place. Pour enough water in to cover all your leaves. Then continue adding water until there’s an extra couple inches (5 cm) between the top layer and the waterline.
   • If you’re really worried about the leaves unrolling, you can place an additional food-safe weight on top of the plate.
2. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Put the pot on a burner and set the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes. Then use a pair of tongs to remove the plate and then one leaf. Take a test bite to make sure the rice has cooked. If not, return it to the pot for a few more minutes, then repeat.
3. Drain and serve. Remove the leaves with tongs and place them in a colander so the excess water can drain. Let them cool to room-temperature, or chill them in the fridge if you like them cold. Serve as is, or pair them with lemon slices and/or plain yogurt for dipping.
   • Seal leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate them. They should last a couple days.

Things You’ll Need

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Colander
• Food processor
• Large skillet
• Spoon for stirring
• Stovetop
• Grater
• Large pot
• 2 medium potatoes (optional)
• Plate
• Tongs

Sources and Citations

See also

• Cook Vegetarian Chili
• Make a Grilled Veggie Panini
• Make Crispy Seaweed Bok Choy
• Prepare a Healthy Vegetarian Meal
• Make a Spicy Vegetarian Pasta Bolognese
• Make Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas
• Make a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner
• Make Sweet Potato Nests
• Make Chickpea and Pumpkin Burgers
• Make Veggie Tots

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