Submitted by: Gigi Shadid, St. George Orthodox Cathedral
Ingredients:
Grape leaves (either fresh or in a jar) can be purchased at Mediterranean restaurants and markets.
2 lbs ground meat (sirloin or lamb)
2 cups of rice (Uncle Ben’s is BEST)
½ spoon black pepper (optional)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon all-spice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Salt (to your liking, about 1 Tablespoon)
½ cup butter
OPTION: Sliced fresh tomatoes (maybe 2)
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (2-3)
Preparation:
- Rinse the rice, and then soak it in a bowl of hot water for at least half an hour. Afterwards, drain the water and mix the meat, butter and spices with the rice.
- Wash the leaves (if they are from a jar) and trim the long stems. If they are fresh leaves, quickly dip the leaves in a pot of boiling water until it changes colors.
- Rolling Grape Leaves: Place about a tablespoon of the rice and meat mixture on the center of the grape leaf. When rolling the grape leaves, make sure that the vein side of the leaf faces up when you are rolling (the veins should NOT show once the grape leaf is rolled). The grape should be rolled tightly and firmly using a "Tuck and Roll" technique.
- Place the rolled grape leaves in a cooking pot, close together. There might be a total of 4-6 layers of rolled grape leaves in a pot if using a full jar of grape leaves.
- OPTION: You can put sliced tomatoes at the bottom of the pot and on top of the rolled grape leaves after you put them all in the pot.
- Once all the rolled grape leaves are in the pot, add water (mixed with some salt and the lemon juice) just over the level of the leaves. Let it boil rapidly for the first five minutes and then turn it down to low heat. You may put a small plate over the top of the grape leaves while it is boiling so the leaves do not unravel. Let it cook until you see the water is dried out (it will take about 2-3 hours or sometimes longer if the leaves are from a jar). Taste test it. Add more water if the leaves are not tender. After the leaves are cooked, turn off the stove. You may want to pour more fresh lemon juice over it along with 2 spoons of butter and cover the pot. The steam will melt it. You may serve it from the pot or flip the pot over onto a serving platter.
- Serve with yogurt on the side to dip it in. Enjoy!
About the event:
Event: St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral 76th annual Lebanese Dinner (It attracts 5,500+ every year)
Date and Time: Saturday, Oct. 10 from 4 - 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 11 from noon until 7 p.m.
Location: 7515 E. 13th (between Woodlawn and Rock Road)
Tickets: $15 for adults, $8 for children (10 and under)
Facts:
- Each guest will enjoy a traditional Lebanese cuisine including grape leave rolls, Ruz and Yuknee (rice and green beans), Kibbe, Salad, Pita Bread, and Baklava for dessert.
- We expect 5,500
- Guests can shop the Country Kitchen for ethnic specialities and homemade goodies
- Members of St. George parish have been working for FIVE months to prepare this dinner
- A portion of the procees to local charities (in the past some examples have been Hopenet, DUI Victim Center, The Lord's Diner, etc.)
Fun Food statistics:
This dinner feeds 5,500 people, so we use large quantities of ingredients:
- Over 1500 pounds of butter
- 600 lbs of sugar made 81 gallons of syrup
- 525 lbs of Fillo Dough and 600 lbs of Nuts made 25,685 pieces of Baklava
- 810 lbs of sirloin, 810 cups of rice and 121 lbs of butter made approximately 29,730 grape leave rolls
- 2,305 lbs of green beans and 1,224 lbs of tomatoes and 3,350 lbs of sirloin make the Ruz and Yuknee
- 800 lbs of raw rice (for Ruz)
- 300 lbs of onions (for Yuknee)
