Dolma, dolmadakia, dolmasi, in whatever language, add something different and delicious to the table. We know them as stuffed grape leaves, but dolma–”stuffed thing” from the Turkish–is basically a stuffed vegetable dish that can be found in the countries that belonged to the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, including many Arab countries, Iran and the Caucasus, as well as Central and South Asia. It is common to stuff eggplant, zucchini, tomato and pepper in these countries, but it is the grape leaf that most English-speaking people recognize as the dolma.

The filling consists of rice and sometimes meat, depending on the region, and is flavored with onion and a variety of herbs and spices. Which herbs and spices? Again, that depends on the region.

Serbian-style dolma are called sarmice, which always confused me because the word sounds like a diminutive of sarma, the cabbage roll that is ubiquitous in Eastern Eauropean cuisines. However, both dishes involve minced meat and rice encased in an edible wrapper. Cabbage rolls are cooked in a sauce spiced with sweet paprika, and in Serbia stuffed grape leaves can be too, although bechamel is also a common adornment. I like them plain, with a dollop of strained yogurt doctored with a bit of lemon.

The filling is cooked beforehand, and it takes a bit of time to fill the leaves, but these sarmice are easy to make and are a great as an appetizer or a complete meal. I usually make a big pot and then freeze any leftovers in individual containers for a quick lunch.

Serbian-style Stuffed Grape Leaves

Ingredients:

Makes 20 stuffed grape leaves

40 grape leaves (from a jar)

1 pounds of lean ground pork

1 cup white rice

1 medium onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons Vegeta seasoning *

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:

1) Soak the grape leaves in water for at least half an hour to get rid of the salt from the brine. In the meantime, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until soft.

2) Cook the rice. In a separate pan, brown the pork until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Put the meat and rice in a large mixing bowl. Add the onions, parsley, an seasonings. Mix thoroughly.

3) As you work, pat each grape leaf on a kitchen towel to get rid of the excess water. Take two grape leaves and trim off any tough stems. Overlap the bottom of one leaf halfway over the bottom of the other. Add a tablespoon or two of the filling, depending on the size of your leaves. Fold in each side of the grape leaves, lengthwise. Then roll up from bottom to top. Place in the bottom of a 9-inch round cooking pot with the folded side down. Repeat with the rest of the grape leaves.

4) Pour water over grape leaves to cover completely. Place a plate on top of the stuffed grape leaves to keep them from floating or unraveling. Cook, covered, for about an hour, or until the water evaporates.

5) Serve with yogurt, sour cream, or bechamel sauce.

* Vegeta is a seasoning from Croatia that can be purchased in most European delis and supermarkets. It can be replaced with salt, to taste.

I had a couple of friends over on the weekend so I planned a mediterranean ‘tapas’ evening. Handy because you can prepare most of it in advance so you can enjoy the company rather than spending the whole evening in the kitchen! On the menu I had spanish tortilla, tzatziki, chorizo & garlic prawns, crusty bread, cheeses, olives, and dolmades. And I thought i’d put the recipe for the dolmades up, as they were my first attempt, and they proved to be a popular nibble! I didn’t have a chance to take any proper photos, but I took a few briskly in a badly lit kitchen.

D O L M A D E S

1 packet vine leaves in brine

extra virgin olive oil

1 cup long grain rice

2 red onions, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 lemon sliced

the juice of 1 lemon

3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted lightly

2 tbsp sultanas

handful of dill, chopped

handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped

maldon salt & black pepper

To prepare the V I N E  L E A V E S remove them from the packaging, and blanch them in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain, and run under cold water to prevent them from cooking further. Try not to tear them when doing this, you want the leaves in tact as much a possible, so the dolmades hold their shape and don’t lose their stuffing!

To make the S T U F F I N G heat a few tbsp of olive oil in a 20cm diameter heavy based pan (about 7-8cm deep). Gently fry the onions for about 7 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and stir through over low heat for 1 minute. Then add the rice, and turn through well, coating in the oil. We only want to partially cook the  rice during this stage. The rice will finish cooking once wrapped inside the vine leaves. So now gradually add about 1 cup of warm water to the pan and stir it into the rice mixture, allowing it to be absorbed fully, this should take no more than 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and remove the pan from the heat, transfer to a large mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5 or so minutes. Then add the pine-nuts, sultanas, parsley, dill, a dash of olive oil, and a bit more seasoning if needed.

To make the D O L M A D E S firstly prepare the pan. Using the same heavy based pan (but cleaned!), pour about 1-2 tbsp olive oil in the base. Then line the base with about 5 vine leaves, overlapping them so the base is completely covered. I try and use the torn/poorly shaped leaves for this bit, and save the good leaves for the dolmades! Now on a clean surface, lay out several vine leaves with the veiny side facing up, stem side closest to you, leaf tip furthest away. You then put about 1-2 heaped tsp of the filling into the centre of each leaf. Now imagine the leaf is a compass. To roll them up, fold the East and West sides over the filling, bring the base (South) of the leaf up over the filling, and roll away from you, tapering the section of the leaf that you are rolling towards so that each dolmade has a neat, tapered seam (when i make these again, i’ll take some more photos!). It’s important not to roll them TOO tightly. The rice will expand a bit when it cooks completely, so you don’t want them to burst! Put them into the pan as you go, fitting them in snugly, seam side down, until you’ve filled the base of the pan with them.

To C O O K the dolmades, place about 7 lemon slices over them in the pan, and then pour the juice of 1 lemon (about 2 Tbsp lemon juice) over them. Then pour enough water over them until it reaches about 2/3 of the way up the dolmades. I find this usually requires about 1 cup of water. Pour a dash of olive oil over them. Finally, place a circle of greaseproof paper over the dolmades, and then sit a small plate upside down, on-top of the paper. This will keep them snugly in place! Put the lid on, and place on the hob on a low heat, for about 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, and leave them in the pan with the lid on for another 30 minutes, to continue soaking up all the juices.

You can S E R V E  them warm, straight out of the pan… or alternatively leave them to cool or chill them in the fridge until you need to serve them. I prefer them cold with a bit of tzatziki to dip them in!

]]> http://theoctosquid.com/2009/11/16/mediterranean-grill-for-surpise-dinner-night/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:20:27 +0000 agreen9 http://theoctosquid.com/2009/11/16/mediterranean-grill-for-surpise-dinner-night/

Late last week, Lauren called me on her way home from work and asked what we were having for dinner. Since our fridge was almost empty, our pantry was unappealing, and our freezer was filled with [obviously] frozen foods used for lunchtime, I took a risk. I suggested, “Why don’t you pick something up and surprise me?!?” (I sure know how to spice up a boring week)

Lauren agreed and I came home to this:

what can it be?

still not sure but getting closer

Any guesses (maybe from the title)?

greek feast

for 2

for me

dolmas is a word reserved for a special set of people

can't have greek without hummus and pita

If the Mediterranean Grill excels at one thing, it’s consistency. I have had this salad/hummus meal more than 25 times at different locations over the past 7 years and it always hits the spot – the yummy, healthy, satisfying, eat a lot of food over a long period of time spot.

Mediterranean Grill
2126 N Decatur Rd
Decatur, GA 30033
www.mediterraneangrill.com

Leaf

More Autumn leaves taken with my Nikon D200 and Original Lensbaby lens with +10 macro filter.

I have a friend who thinks the Lensbaby is a gimmick. I would like to have a really nice Nikon macro lens and do some straight macro shooting, but macro lenses are expensive. Right now, I’ll have to make do with what I have.

Leaves.

More autumn leaves from Southern California, where not a whole lot of foliage changes color. I took this with my Nikon D200 with the Original Lensbaby lens and +10 macro filter.

had a friend over for a mini-cocktail and scrabble party on friday night, so now i have goodies for tomorrow’s lunch.  clockwise from left center:  marinated artichoke hearts in a silicone cup with a food pick, cornichon pickles, wedges of gruyere and gouda cheese, vegetarian “meatballs” and tomatoes on bamboo skewers, stuffed grape leaves with a cucumber flower, carrot sticks and yellow wax beans.

the top tier is not pictured, but has sesame and poppy seed crackers, pomegranate seeds in a food cup, kiwi slices, blackberries, and a leaf-cut plum.

Leaves.

These are some leaves outside my house—part of a shrub. In the Autumn, some of the leaves around here just look diseased.

This was taken with my Nikon D200 with the Original Lensbaby lens as well as the +10 macro filter.

Grape leaf.

This photo was taken with my Nikon D200 with the Original Lensbaby lens and +10 macro filter.

I’ve misidentified some of the leaf photos I’ve taken previously as ivy, when in fact, some of them are grape leaves. There are ivy and grape vines growing around my house. Needless to say, the grape leaves are the ones attached to the vines that have little grapes.

WARAK ENAB – STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Stuffed Grape Leaves with HUmmus

I often wonder of the vine,
That grows the grapes that make the wine.

Around the world we share this juice,
It tastes so good. It makes us loose.

Of this drink I do partake,
But wake up with a great headache.

To shun this vitis all together,
Would make me sad, under the weather.

So I don’t remain dejected,
To this stem I stay connected.

Outside I go, roll up my sleeves,
Get right down and pick the leaves.

Not for display or pretty bouquet,
These go on my dinner tray.

I would not mind to eat alone,
But before you judge or throw a stone,
Try one stuffed with meat and rice,
You might think it tastes quite nice.

Soaked in a bath of lemony stock,
A little tart but it won’t shock.

There really is no good excuse
Grab one, dip it in hummus.

No longer will you be polite,
For them you will gladly fight.

And you will find out just like I,
Both  fruit and leaf can make you high.

RECIPE FOR STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

100 fresh grape leaves or 2 jars of grape leaves

1 1/2 lbs. ground top sirloin

1 1/2 cups rice

1 medium sized onion (quartered)

1 cup fresh mint leaves, washed/dried & loosely packed

3 Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced rounds 1/4 inch thick

2 garlic cloves, whole

1/4 red chile pepper

1 TBSP allspice

1 TBSP kosher salt

2 TBSP Butter, cut in small pieces

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup lemon juice

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

In a food processor, add the onion, mint and red chile pepper. Mix until pureed.  Place meat in a large mixing bowl.  Add the pureed mixture, uncooked rice, allspice, salt and pepper.  Mix well (preferably by hand.)  Place in refrigerator.

For fresh grape leaves, give them a rinse in cold water and pat dry.  Cut off all stems.  For jarred grape leaves, soak them in cold water for ten minutes.  Drain the water and soak again for another ten minutes.  Take them out of the water and pat dry.  Cut off all stems.

Take the meat mixture out of the refrigerator.  Lay a leaf in front of you, vein side up so that the shiny part of the leaf is on the bottom.  Put about one tablespoon of meat at the stem part of the leaf.  Roll the bottom part of the leaf up to encase the filling.  Next, fold in the sides of the leaf.  Finish it off by rolling upward. (See photos below)

Once the leaves have been rolled, add the olive oil to the bottom of the pot. Line the bottom with the sliced potatoes and add a pinch of salt. Then start layering the leaves on top of the potatoes, starting from the outside and working your way inward. Once you have completed one layer, begin another on top.

When the grape leaves are all in the pot, add the chicken stock, lemon juice, whole garlic cloves and butter. Place a plate, face down, on top of the grape leaves to keep them from unwrapping while they cook. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling, bring the heat down to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Let stand for another fifteen. There should still be a little liquid at the bottom of the pot. Pour it over the leaves once they have been served, or sop it up with a piece of pita bread!

]]> http://janetjoseph.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/lebanese-mezze/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:20:06 +0000 jmjoseph http://janetjoseph.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/lebanese-mezze/

I’m taking it back to my roots today. Cooking it up  Lebanese style in JJ’s kitchen. I won’t be posting recipes this time though. These are family secrets passed down for 3 generation! However, the Lebanese Mezze is one of my most popular request from clients. This is no simple task either. Especially when preparing it on my own (it takes me about 3 hours). Growing up there were always plenty of hands to help. I find myself missing my Aunts when making this! Shout out to my Aunts for teaching me the family recipes.

Here’s a few photos of what went down in the  Cooking JJ’s Way kitchen….

prep for grape leaves                                    rolled grape leaves (wara xariic)

prep for tabouli                                                tabouli

hummus from scratch                                     kibbee

~ Patty ~

This is Patty’s post but I’m (Mary) going to butt in with a quick story she knew nothing about until I spilled the beans last week. 

Patty would make these pickles in a 5 gallon Red Wing crock when we were kids.  BIG CRISPY COLD DILLS on a hot summer day – what could be better……right before dinner – right?  We used to sneak them out of the crock and eat them while hiding in the dog house.  I can’t believe she never found out.

Patty: I made a new crock of dill pickles and took pictures…..such as they are.  You can decide if you want to use any of it.  I can’t see  anyone making Crock Dills this day and age.  (I bought a new  three gallon Redwing Pottery Stoneware crock this year for Fred for his birthday.  You know how he loves his dill pickles?!)  

Here is the recipe I improvised  from  Grandma Winker’s

‘Prize Winning Dills’.

Cucumbers, pickle size.  Enough to fill your crock.  

Grape leaves or Alum (to keep pickles crisp).  Estimate Alum the size of a pea per quart of pickles. OR Use grape leaves between each layer of pickles. 

Garlic cloves cut in half (no need to peel).  Estimate three garlic pods per quart.

Dill, fresh.  Estimate one seed head with stalk and leaves per quart.

Brine:  (I triple this for my 3 gal crock) 

3 quarts    water

1 cup        cider vinegar

1/2 cup     Kosher salt

Wash and drain cucumbers.  Pack a layer in the bottom of the crock.  Cover with a layer of grape leaves.  Cover with a layer of dill.  Sprinkle in several cloves of garlic, sliced in half.  Repeat until crock is full.

Place crock of pickles on the porch, veranda or deck or any cool location out of the sun.   Boil the brine and pour it over filled crock.  Place a plate (dinner or salad plate….not metal) over top of pickles press it down firmly to be sure all cucumbers are under the brine.   

Use a big rock to weigh the plate down to keep the pickles under the brine.  If you don’t have a rock, fill a quart jar with water, seal it tight and use it as a weight. Cover the whole thing with a clean white flour sack dish towel. 

Drape it all around so no bugs get in, but not so it’s in the brine.  Let the crock rest and work for ten days to two weeks.  Smaller cukes pickle faster than the larger ones.  Just reach in and take one out to test.

To store transfer pickles and brine to covered jars and/or non-metal containers (discard grape leaves, dill and garlic.)  Keep refrigerated.  Our ‘wine cooler’ refrigerator is being used for pickle storage.  Face it, we use more pickles than wine these days!  Sad but true.  

Probably my second most requested recipe:

Stuffed Grape Leaves:

1 jar of grape leaves (Yergat has most tender leaves)
2 pounds ground lamb
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1 & 1/3 cup med grain rice (or sushi rice)
Approx ½ cup water
6 cloves garlic
3 lemons (at least)
2 cups chicken broth

1. Soak rice for 30 minutes at least
2. -Soak grape leaves at least 30 minutes to get rid of brine taste
3. -Drain grape leaves, cut stems and place shiny side down on a plate, smoothed out
4. -Take any broken or ripped grape leaves and use to layer bottom of dutch oven
5. -Slice one lemon and layer on top of grape leave scraps in dutch oven
6. -Combine lamb, salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, water and rice in large bowl. Mix well.
7. -Place man sized finger roll on first ¼ of leaf, tuck and roll edges from bottom, then sides towards top.
8. -Place on platter seam side down
9. -When all grape leaves are stuffed, stack in dutch oven with peeled whole garlic cloves
10. -Cover with juice from 2 lemons and chicken broth
11. -Cover leaves with heavy plate and close dutch oven firmly. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
12. -Remove from heat and serve with juice.

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On your Wine Country trips, have you ever tried to tell the grape leaves apart?

Have you even wondered whether different wine grapes have different shaped leaves?

Here’s a photo of two leaves from of the two wine grapes made into beautiful California wines, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Photo Courtesy: San Francisco Grape Leaves Museum, aka my living room

Collection of the San Francisco Grape Leaves Museum

This weekend we are going to Healdsburg to celebrate the finishing of my brother and his wife’s  barn. They built this barn to live in while their house is being constructed on 7 acres in the beautiful wine country of northern California. It should be a fun time and we are making the most of the trip by stopping to see some close friends as we make our way up the state. I always like to bring a gift when I go to a party so I decided to try my hand at embroidery. My machine is for sewing and embroidery but I use it for sewing most of the time.  The grape bunches are embroidered on flour sack dish towels which if you don’t know are the best towels for drying dishes.

These turned out so pretty I am thinking about taking orders for special embroidery projects. I was apprehensive before because I was just learning how to use my machine but I have passed the learning curve and I am ready to branch out. Let me know if there is anything you need.

I was inspired twice this month to get back to my roots and cook some Lebanese food. I had the pleasure of being contacted by the owner of Ziyad, probably the largest importer of Mediterranean foods in the United States. He sent me a beautiful care package of goodies to cook with. I then went to my family reunion in Chicago. My aunts cooked a full spread of authentic Lebanese food. We had grape leaves, sfiha, kibbe, fatayer, stuffed cabbage, the list goes on.

I wanted to take the flavors of the Middle East “without borders”. I made grape leaves stuffed with grilled salmon, toasted pine nuts, rice and the spice mixture known as Zahtar. Zahtar is traditionally a mix of ground sesame seeds, dried thyme and or oregano and sumac. Typically it is a dried herb mixture. I wanted to bring a really bright flavor to the dish so I used fresh thyme, fresh oregano, sumac and I didn’t have sesame seeds so I used sesame oil. Zahtar is another one of those brilliant blends where the mixture is so much more than the total of the individual spices. A deep, exotic, intriguing flavor. I grilled the salmon to MR and broke it into tender morsels. I cooked white rice separately and then tossed it into the bowl. I added toasted pine nuts, sesame oil and the Zahtar blend. I boiled the grape leaves until tender and then wrapped them around the mixture.

With my eyes closed I felt like I was experience all the flavors I love in Lebanese food but in a new way. The grilled salmon played so nicely with the earthy flavor of the thyme and oregano. The sumac brought its cleansing tangy, citrusy note and the sesame oil pulled everything together making the filling moist and rich but not heavy.  The grape leaf was visually beautiful, almost like “Lebanese sushi” and brought that slightly tart, fully vegetal flavor that I love. Enjoy!

Eat well, enjoy life, be happy.

My neighbour has a grape vine. Every year, about this time, I kindly ask her if I can pick some of them to pickle.

She says “yes.”

I found this recipe in Putting it up with Honey: a natural foods canning and preserving cookbook. I’ve found this to be a helpful resource in the summer; it’s full of jam, pickle, and condoment recipes galore. (FYI, not all the recipes call for honey–especially the pickles.)

The grape leaves pickled this way are not as tender as the ones I purchase at the store, but the texture is improved by cooking (which most dolmas/dolmades recipes call for.)

Pickled Grape Leaves

Yield: 4 pints

200 whole, medium sized grape leaves

4 t. salt

4 quarts water

2 C. lemon juice

Add salt to 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Add the grape leaves about 25 at a time and cook for 30 second. Drain. Form into loose rolls and pack vertically into paint jars. Add lemon juice to 2 quarts of fresh water. Bring to a boil. Pour over the grape leaves to within 1/2-inch from the tops of the jars. Complete seals and process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water bath.

Then, in the middle of winter, use your grape leaves in a recipe for dolmades (or dolmas) or

Ntolmathes

This recipe is adapted from a book called Food Glorious Greek Food: My Mother’s Cook Book which was published in 1986 by the Vancouver Times. Only a few used copies are available online; a friend gave me her copy when I lived in Vancouver.

• ½ lb. ground pork
• ½ lb. ground beef
• 1 jar (16 oz.) grape vine leaves
• ½ C. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 C. long grain rice
• 1 T. dried mint leaves
• ½ t. salt
• ¼ t. pepper
• 2 ½ C. water

Mix together meat, rice, mint, salt, pepper and onion. Rinse and drain the grape leaves. Position the leaf with stem facing you and add 1 T. of the eat filling. Fold into a packet (kind of like how you would wrap a gift). The main point is to get the meat into the leaf so it doesn’t spill out too easily. This may take some experimentation depending on how big your grape leaves are. Place the rolls (or packets) into the bottom of a large skillet. Pack in layers with the seam down. Add the water. Place a heavy plate upside down on the rolls to prevent them from coming apart. Place a lid on the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 25-35 minutes, or until the rice is tender.

This is a great recipe for a Sunday afternoon, because it takes so long! (It’s worth it though.)

Ingredients:

• 1 Jar grape leaves
• 1 1/4 Cups brown rice
• 3 1/2 Cups vegetable broth
• 1 Red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup chickpeas
• 1/2 Cup olive oil
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 Cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/2 Cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 Cup lemon juice

Method:

• Bring rice and broth to a boil. 
• Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer. 
• Add chickpeas after 15 minutes. 
• Remove from heat when rice is tender (about 25 minutes). 
• Let cool to room temperature.
• Unfold grape leaves carefully and rinse with cold water.
• Remove and discard small stem from each leaf. Pat dry and set aside. 
• Saute onions in 3 Tbl olive oil until translucent (about 10 minutes) stirring frequently. 
• Stir in garlic dill parsley and half the lemon juice, then remove from heat. 
• Add onion mixture to rice. 
• Season with s/p and mix well. (Don’t oversalt!) 
• Preheat oven to 350′. 
• On a flat surface place one leaf smooth side down with stem towards you. 
• Place 1 tbl filling at stem end of the leaf and begin rolling the leaf folding both sides. 
• Continue rolling to enclose the filling and make a tight bundle. 
• Place filled leaf in a 9 X 13 baking dish, seamside down. 
• Repeat with remaining grape leaves and rice mixture. 
• Drizzle with remaining oil and juice. 
• Cover with foil and bake until tender (about 30 minutes.) 
• Remove from oven allow to cool for 10 minutes and refrigerate. Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

The day after my 25th birthday (Saturday), my fiance treated me to dinner out at a Greek/Lebanese restaurant, Wael’s Mediterranean Cuisine. We’d never tried the restaurant, but he’d heard good things about it, and I’m so glad we went. It was awesome!

We started out with appetizers – grape leaves and hummus (got the pic a bit late there). Grape leaves are my favorite, especially when they’re served warm with tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt + lemon juice + dill + garlic).

For the main course, I got chicken shawarma (meat slow roasted on a spit and then shaved into thin slices) and a Greek salad.

Absolutely delicious. The shawarama was perfect – crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.

For dessert, we had tiramisu, and I drank Turkish coffee. No picture because I was too busy consuming the deliciousness of my favorite course!

All in all, a fantastic way to spend the day and a great new local restaurant we discovered!

I was looking at some of Hank Shaw’s fish recipes the other day and I stumbled across a great one for sardines. I know that most people think of the stinky fish in the aluminum container when they think of sardines. However, what people don’t realize is that sardines are absolutely amazing fish to grill and eat on a warm summer night! Sardines are also great for the memory, check out my earlier blog: Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane for other great memory enhancing tips.

If you think that you can challenge your mind to think of and try something new, give this recipe a go.

Fresh Sardines Grilled and Stuffed

Grilled, semi-boneless fresh sardines are a fantastic fish to serve in summer. This sardine recipe uses grape leaves to hold in a simple stuffing — and keep the fish from sticking to the grill. Sardines are a full-flavored fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, but they are bony. Good news is that it’s easy to remove most of the bones with a method describe below.

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8-12 fresh sardines, scaled and gutted
• 8-12 grape or fig leaves
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
• 2 T. chopped parsley
• 2-4 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 T. of your favorite herb — I like to use basil in summer, sage in winter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preparation:

• Make the stuffing
  • Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the breadcrumbs, mushrooms, herbs, garlic, onion and salt in a food processor and buzz until combined. Do not work the mixture too long or the texture will taste odd. Just pulse it a few times so it comes together. Let this stand while you de-bone the sardines.
• De-bone the sardines
  • Once you have scaled and gutted sardines, you need to remove most of the bones so you can eat them easily. Do this by taking your sharpest knife — a fillet knife is the best for this — and cutting along each side of the backbone behind the ribs.
  • Once you do this, slip the point of the knife (facing away from the backbone) under the ribs and free them from the meat. Do this on each side.
  • Using scissors or kitchen shears cut the backbone where it meets the tail and where it meets the head. You can remove the head if it bothers you.
  • To remove the backbone, work your thumb and forefinger alongside the backbone at the tail end to free it, and carefully lift it up as you go toward the head. Push down the meat as you go. Once you get near the end of the ribs, it will all come away with lots of bones attached. You now have a cleanly split sardine.
  • There will still be a few bones in the sardine, but they will be very thin and perfectly edible. Assemble. Paint each sardine with olive oil and fill the cavity with some of the stuffing
• Moisten each grape leaf (fresh or the brined, canned ones from the store are each OK) with olive oil and wrap the sardine in the leaf. The oil will help them stick.
• If you cannot find grape or fig leaves, you can omit them or use cabbage leaves that have been soaked. If you don’t use a leaf, you will need to sew the cavity shut or use a skewer to do so.
• Grill the sardines over a hot fire for 5-6 minutes per side. Turn only once.
• Serve with cold white wine. Try chenin blanc, pinot grigio, a Portuguese vinho verde, a Spanish Torrontes or with this dish, a Greek assyrtiko.
• As a side dish consider a tossed salad with a nice vinaigrette.

Wishing you a lot of fun in trying a new recipe!

eggplant and falafel spinach wrap; roasted cauliflower;  grape leaves; grilled eggplant; baked okra.  Mediterranean Deli, chapel hill

“If we get grape leaves,” a member asked me last week, “does that mean we will be getting grapes?” The answer is yes and no.

I grow Concord and Rutherford grapes as well as the native Fox grapes. The three grow well here and I don’t use commercial sprays of any kind. As a matter of fact, I haven’t used any spray in 18 years because I rely mostly on our biodiversity and cultural practices to ensure abundant crops. It is almost impossible to find a vineyard that doesn’t spray something for mold, mildew, fungus or the many other rots that affect grapes in our region.

But I don’t yet produce enough grapes to feed a crowd. Since, percentage-wise, we have far more native grapevines than cultured varieties there aren’t enough grapes to go around for the CSA. When we get our orchard and berries and vegetables to where we want them, I will again move more aggressively towards managing the grapevines here and perhaps we will have grapes to include in the shares.

You might be able to get a sample of our grapes this season, however. The Concords ripen in September and the Rutherfords a bit later. If you’re up on the farm for a volunteer day and the grapes are ripe, I’ll give you a taste.