Fish-stuffed grape leaves
August 18, 2013 • Category: Main Dish
It took a bit of convincing to get the lady I was working with to attempt this one; well, I could see her point. This is not done here, first off. My argument was: We’ll just cook fish simply, with veggies and a few spices, but instead of keeping the fillets whole, we’ll cut them in chunks, and feed more people. Turn it into a mezze item. She said: OK for this experiment, just not as a mezze, it will be the main course. Agreed.
Leaves were pulled out of a freezer bag and blanched. (We don’t bother with brining)
Fish was seasoned and cut into chunks; leaves their tip snapped off and stuffed.
The pot was lined with lots of onions, sliced tomatoes, celery leaves, parsley sprigs and some dill from our last foraging trip in the mountains.
INGREDIENTS: 4 servings
1 lb white fish fillets
1/2 lb grape leaves
4 tomatoes, sliced
4 onions, sliced
Salt, to taste
Herbs: Sprigs of parsley, celery leaves, dill leaves finely chopped (or dried dill, 2 Tbsp), etc
Spices to season the fish: 1 Tbsp sumac, salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp coriander.
4 Lemons (more as needed), juiced
3/4 cup olive oil
1. Blanch the leaves till tender (30 seconds in boiling water) and drain immediately. Cut off the tip; season the fish and cut into chunks; roll the leaves. Line the pot with the onions and tomatoes and herbs and stack with the stuffed grape leaves.
2. Add 2 cups of water, the juice of the lemons and the olive oil; hold the stuffed leaves tight with a smaller plate. Bring to a gentle simmer, covering the pot; let the mixture bubble up for 40 minutes very gently; uncover. Cool a bit, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with additional lemon quarters.
Comments
11 Comments • Comments Feed
Rosa says:
Very healthy, light and summery! This fish stuffing is great.
Cheers,
Rosa
On August 18, 2013 at 12:55 pm
Ayah @sukarah says:
A very interesting combination, am too lazy to make wara2 3inab so am just going to be a total spoiled kid and ask my mom to make it for me. Thanks for being an inspiration xoxo
On August 19, 2013 at 1:17 am
Lisa the Gourmet Wog says:
Interesting!! I’ve never heard of fish in dolmas, sounds yum
On August 19, 2013 at 6:22 am
Mark Wisecarver says:
Well gosh, as a Lebanese Sushi Chef I have to say this makes a lot of sense but having made both I’ve never combined the two like this. 🙂
Sure why not, they’re both made with leaves of a sort anyway. Love the idea.
I’m thinking one of the ingredients I use in mine would do great, thin slices of fresh avocado. Sticky rice, smoked Salmon and Avocado…I’m going to try it!
On August 19, 2013 at 8:55 am
Belinda @zomppa says:
They are like little presents!
On August 19, 2013 at 9:56 am
Susan says:
I’ve had meat-stuffed grape leaves but never stuffed with fish – I love the idea!
On August 19, 2013 at 1:31 pm
Oui, Chef says:
This looks like one tasty labor of love!
On August 19, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Elena says:
Joumana – wonderful dish! tasty, juicy, very healthy.
I prepared such stuffed grape leaves with mix of minced fish and amaranth grains , and bitter orange juice.
On August 21, 2013 at 9:59 am
Katerina says:
We stuff grape leaves with rice and ground meat, I have never attempted to stuff them with fish but I am sure they must taste equally delicious!
On August 22, 2013 at 10:38 am
Alicia (foodycat) says:
These look great! I’ve had sardines wrapped in vineleaves before, but never a fillet.
On August 24, 2013 at 11:33 am
Nuts about food says:
I love all these recipes with vine leaves you have been posting recently, I really want to try my hand at it.
On September 9, 2013 at 4:04 am