Stuffed Grape Leaves, Two Ways

We had the best dinner last night for Rosh Hashanah. Galilla and I collaborated to make some vegetarian stuffed grape leaves, and they were amazing! She rarely measures things when she cooks and knows most of her recipes from memory, so this is the best I could do to write down the recipe. I'm definitely going to make it again sometime. Yum!

I. Cracked Wheat with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Grape Leaves
* 1 cup cracked wheat (burghul)
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup ground veggie burger
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* 1 jar of grape leaves
* 1/2 cup onion
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce
* 1 can stewed tomatoes
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup finely chopped onion
* 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley
* 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint
* 1 teaspoon fresh or dried dill
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Preparation:

Take a cup of cracked wheat and wash it in water and strain. Set it aside in a bowl and pour 1cup of boiling water over it and let it sit for 30 min. Strain the water off and squeeze handfuls of the cracked wheat to get rid of excess moisture. Heat a pan on the stove with 2 tablespoons of oil. Add 1/2 cup of chopped onion and saute for three minutes. Add in the cracked wheat and 1 cup of ground veggie patty. Add the cumin and poultry seasoning and mix together.

Take out a glass baking dish and spray it with cooking spray. Once the cracked wheat mixture has cooled enough to handle, spoon about two tablespoons into each grape leaf and roll it up. Place each stuffed grape leaf into the pan until it is full.

For the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan and saute a cup of chopped onions for three minutes. Add the parsley, mint, dill, and garlic, then saute for several more minutes. Add the can of tomatoes and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Once the sauce is ready, pour it over the grape leaves. Cover the pan with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Cool and then serve. 

II. Goat Cheese and Rice

Ingredients:

Grape Leaves
* 1 cup white rice
* 2 cups water
* 1 jar of grape leaves
* 1/2 cup onion
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Filling
* 1 log of goat cheese
* 1 egg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Take a cup of rice and wash it in water and strain. Boil two cups of water, add the rice, cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, until rice is cooked.In another pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/2 cup of chopped onion. Saute for three minutes. Add pepper and salt, then mix it into the rice. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, crack the egg and whisk it. Add in the goat cheese and whisk it together with the egg until there are no clumps. Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the cooled rice. Take out a glass baking dish and spray it with cooking spray.Spoon about two tablespoons of the rice mixture into each grape leaf and roll it up. Place each stuffed grape leaf into the pan until it is full.

Sprinkle about 1/4 cup water over the top of the grape leaves. Cover the pan with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. If you like, remove the foil for the last 5 minutes for a crispier top. Cool and then serve.

Pictures via here and here