Tips to prepare perfect stuffed vine leaves

Vine leaves are a classic dish served among the mouthwatering Arabic appetizers or main dishes. ‎If you think that rolling vine leaves is such a hard task especially when it’s your first time, we ‎will try to ease up the process through simple and easy steps.‎

Step 1: Fresh vs preserved

Depending on your preferences, you can cook this delicious dish with fresh or preserved vine ‎leaves. If you choose using fresh leaves, you better boil them for 3-5 minutes until they ‎soften. This way, they will be more pliable and easier to roll. However, if preserved leaves ‎end up to be your choice, just soak them in water for 10 minutes then wash them to get rid of ‎preservatives.‎

Step 2: prepare the leaves

So you boiled or soaked your vine leaves. Now just break them apart and put them aside to ‎ease up the process. Spread the leaves on your working space, soft shiny side down. Spread it ‎well and trim the stem with a sharp knife.‎

Step 3: Stuff it just right

Depending on your preferences, you can either stuff vine leaves with a vegetarian rice and ‎vegetables filling or a meaty rice and lamb meat filling. You can easily mix your ingredients ‎in Masterchef Gourmet in no time! When your filling is ready, place a spoonful in the center ‎of each leaf.‎

Step 4: Get to rolling!‎

Roll your leaves just right. Fold the lower section over the filling. Repeat with the right and ‎left side to cover the filling completely. Start rolling towards the top, keeping the filling ‎pressed. But make sure the rolling is not too tight because the rice will expand while cooking.‎

Step 5: Prepare for cooking

In the bottom of your pot, align some potato and tomato slices so that your rolled vine leaves ‎won’t stick to the bottom. Tuck the vine leaves rolls well and top with a heavy dish so they ‎won’t unravel while cooking.‎