Meat-stuffed grape leaves -- no rice

[nolafoodie]

Some people in my community have prepared grape leaves stuffed with a meat-only filling -- something like kafta/kebab rolled up in grape leaves. As I understand it, these grape leaves are baked rather than boiled/steamed. I've tried them on several occasions, and they are quite tasty.

Has anyone ever prepared grape leaves this way? Do you add liquid to the baking dish/pan, or just cover the dish and let the moisture from the meat steam the leaves? Or do you do something else entirely?

Many thanks for your help!

[melamed]

Interesting, I am familier with the rice/ground meat stuffing but have not heard of baking only meat stuffed grape leaves. I have several Arab-Israeli cookbooks as well as one from Jordan and none of them have this recipe. There are many recipes which are specific only to one community and even to one family. People who are intimate with the various communities here can tell where a person comes from only by their food. Where do you come from?

[scubadoo97]

I have had stuffed cabbage with a meat filling, no rice. These have been from Eastern European Jews. I find them a little too dense. I imagine if you cut the meat with bread crumbs or matzoh meal or something like essentially like meat loaf, that it would make it less dense.

[judiu]

I've always had a problem with "heavy" meatloaf, and when I've added a filler like bread crumbs, it just gets worse. The cure I've found? A small can of water chestnuts, drained and zapped to bits in the mini food processer. The don't soak up moisture like crumbs or oatmeal will, they provide a bit of crunch, and they don't get packed down. HTH!

[nolafoodie]

Where do you come from?

←

New Orleans.

Oh, you mean my family? Near Ramallah.

Scubadoo, cutting the meat sounds like a good idea, but so does Judiu's idea of using vegetation. Personally, whenever I make kafta/kebab, I use lots of chopped onions, so it doesn't usually come out dense. Another trick is not to handle the meat too roughly. You don't want to squeeze, compress, or knead ground meat, but just gently mix it with your fingers until everything is combined. In other words, try to keep it fluffy. Of course, you do need to press it a bit in order to shape it, but again, this should be done gently.

[melamed]

Where do you come from?

←

New Orleans.

Oh, you mean my family? Near Ramallah.

I could I would hop over to Ramallah to check out the culinary scene.

If you get a palestinian cookbook together, I will be the first one to buy it! There is only one other that I know of in English by Christiane Dabdoub Nasser which I noticed on amazon. I am sure there many religios specific recipes in the area as well.

do you have the exact recipe for the meat stuffed grape leaves?

thanks!

[scubadoo97]

Personally, whenever I make kafta/kebab, I use lots of chopped onions, so it doesn't usually come out dense

love kafta. Lots of onions, parsley and spices. Now I'm picturing a kofta rolled ina grape leaf. Acutally sounds nice.

[Rebecca263]

Onions would definitely moisten the filling.

[sazji]

I've always had a problem with "heavy" meatloaf, and when I've added a filler like bread crumbs, it just gets worse. The cure I've found? A small can of water chestnuts, drained and zapped to bits in the mini food processer. The don't soak up moisture like crumbs or oatmeal will, they provide a bit of crunch, and they don't get packed down. HTH!

←

That sounds reallhy good!