I found a packet of vine leaves in the fridge the other day so I decided to teach the missus how to cook one of my favourite dishes.
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There are a lot of different fillings that can be used but this is the way I used to make them with my nan so I stick to the same recipe.
First chop two large onions and fry for 5 minutes
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Juice two lemons
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Finely chop a bunch of mint
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Mix this all together in a large bowl with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and some black pepper
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Add 250 grams of pork and 250 grams of beef
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Add 1 cup of washed, uncooked white rice
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Add two OXO cubes dissolved in half a cup of water and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and mix thoroughly
Now bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the vine leaves for 5 minutes
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Remove the vine leaves from the water but save the water as it'll be used later
Now time to get rolling. Get the missus involved here as it takes a while
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Lay a vine leave out flat, shiny side down
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Add the filling
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Roll tightly folding the sides of the leaf in first
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Finished
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Line a pasta pot with a few of the left over broken vine leaves and arrange the rolled Dolmades so that they are tight enough together to stop them coming undone when cooking
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Add an upturned plate on top of the vine leaves and some weight on the top of that to prevent them from moving whilst cooking
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Cover with the water used earlier, a splash of olive oil and some lemon juice. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer for an hour and a half
Once cooked allow them to cool to room temperature before serving
Serve with some plain Greek yoghurt, some home-made tzatziki (my recipe for that is on one of my other threads), paprika and lemon wedges
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Enjoy :)
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