ONE TO BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY TOGETHER
“Traditionally in the days leading up to the new year, the women of the family gather together to prepare the meze dishes for the NYE festivities, many hands making light work over black tea and gossip.
A lovingly labor-intensive recipe perfect for times of togetherness such as these, each delicately crafted morsel made to melt in your mouth, drenched in rich olive oil and tangy lemon juice.
In part one of our 2-part Sarma Series, we invite you to enjoy these quiet days between Christmas and whats to come, sitting with your nearest and dearest to roll some Yaprak Sarma (stuffed grape leaves) one of our most favorite Meze of all time!”
– Ceren, Oddbird Founder and CD
INGREDIENTS
1 lb grape leaves, we love this brand
1 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 cups jasmine rice
2 medium onions
Head of parsley
1 rounded tablespoon of tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried mint
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Side of Cacik
METHOD
In a deep pot bring water to the boil and add grape leaves from jar. Boil for 5 minutes to reduce its salt content. Remove from water at leave to cool.
For the filling
- In a bowl, rinse your jasmine rice until the water runs clear, set aside.
- In a food processor add onions and parsley and pulse until finely chopped.
- Add 1/2 cup olive oil to your saucepan and sauté your onions until transparent. Add your rinsed rice, finely chopped Parsley, rounded tablespoon of dried mint, salt, pepper and tomato paste and stir until it is all mixed thoroughly. scoop ingredients into a bowl.
- In a heavy bottom saucepan lay one layer of grape leaves to coat the bottom and stop the Sarma from sticking to the bottom of the pan.Now we roll!
- On a flat surface gently separate your grape leaves so you are working with one at a time. In the center of your grape leaf add a tablespoon of your rice filling and roll it slowly and tightly like you would a burrito, folding in the sides and rolling closed in the shape of a slim cigar.
- With each one, set the Sarma in the saucepan working around the edges in a circular line, continuing until each roll has been laid in somewhat of a spiral to form one layer. Begin a second layer and third as needed.
- Once all of your rolls have been placed in the pan, slice your lemon into circular slices and add to the top of the pot with 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil drizzled on across the top.
- Add approximately 4-5 cups of water to the pot and lay a heavy ceramic plate on top of the sarma (before placing the lid on top) to keep the rolls from expanding and falling apart.
- Gently bring the pot to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 mins or until the rice is soft to the bite and the water is gone. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
- To serve, squeeze fresh lemon on the rolls with a side of Garlic Yoghurt known as cacik/tzatziki.
