My attempt at making the Saad Family's Warek (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

I've recently been on a cooking kick and I absolutely LOVE it. My cousins and I have been getting together on Zoom in attempts to recreate our late grandmother's best recipes. It's been such a great way to connect with them in these crazy times and honor one of the most important person in our lives. I'll be sharing those recipes as we perfect them, but this one is all about my attempt to recreate one of my favorite dishes ever, Warek (stuffed grape leaves).

I got the list of ingredients for this delicious dish from my best friends, Fal and Nesreen. Their family has been making this dish for as long as I can remember and they always invite me over (pre-Covid) when they make it because they know I love it so much. I was a little nervous for this recipe, but with some guidance, useful tips and tricks, and a whole lot of love-- it turned out GREAT. Special shoutout to my besties for sharing the recipe and always encouraging me to just go for it.

Total Time: 3-4 hours | Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 2-3 hours

1 jar of Fresno Grape Leaves

I bought mine from Good Food Market in Pasadena, CA. You can find these at any market although International Markets would have more of a variety. The "Fresno" grape leaves are larger and easier to roll than the California leaves.

Stuffing Ingredients:

- 1 pound of ground beef (I used Organic Grass Fed Ground Beef, 85/15)

- 2 1/2 cups of Calrose rice (washed and drained)

- 2 packets of Sazon

- 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon pepper

- 1 1/2 teaspoons of Aleppo pepper

- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of garlic (Your preference-- in my opinion, the more garlic the better)

- 1/3 cup of fresh-squeezed lemon juice

- 1/4 cup of olive oil

- 1 head of parsley (finely chopped)

- 2 to 4 tomatoes (finely diced)

Optional Ingredients for your pot:

- Garlic Cloves

- 1 to 2 tablespoons of Tomato Paste

Method:

1. Open the jar of grape leaves and drain out all the brine. Slowly pull the leaves out, being careful not to tear them. Once leaves are removed, place in a bowl and rinse with water one to two times to make sure brine is fully washed away.

2. Rinse the rice with cold water.

You want to make sure the water runs clear and is free of starch before beginning to mix your stuffing.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the washed rice, ground beef, Sazon, lemon pepper, Aleppo pepper, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, chopped parsley (I run mine through a food processor to make sure it's very very fine), and diced tomatoes. You can add salt if you'd like -- the Sazon and the Lemon Pepper already have salt in them so I don't add extra salt but it's your preference if you prefer your food to be heavily or lightly salted.

Your meat mixture should look something like this.

4. Place a grape leaf, vein side up, on a large plate or cutting board. Using a small knife, carefully cut the stem of the leaf off. Place about one spoonful of the filling on the leaf and spread into a thin line leaving enough room on both sides so you can roll the leaf.

5. Like a burrito, fold each side of the leaf over the filling beginning with the bottom side and roll tightly to prevent the leaf from opening up while cooking -- not too tight so that the rice has room to expand, but tight enough so the leaves do not open during cooking. Repeat these steps until you have no more leaves and/or filling left.

6. In a large deep pot, drizzle some olive oil and line the bottom of the pot with tomato slices or grape leaves, or both. I didn't have enough tomato to do this, so I lined the pot with some canned tomato chunks and a layer of grape leaves. Begin placing your rolled grape leaves in the pot close together so they do not move or unwrap during cooking. You can also add fresh whole cloves of garlic between the leaves, if desired.

7. Once all leaves are arranged in the pot, place a plate over the leaves face down. This will prevent the leaves from moving around during the cooking process. Pour salted hot water over the leaves until they are fully covered-- filling the pot enough water to cover up the plate. Add your desired amount of lemon juice to the pot, along with a spoonful of tomato paste (if desired).

8. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to low and cook for an additional 2-3 hours. I cooked it for 2 and a half hours after the initial 30 minutes, so 3 hours of total cooking time and they came out perfect!

9. Once the grape leaves have finished cooking, carefully flip the pot over onto a serving platter. Garnish with fresh lemon slices, if desired, and serve warm.

I had so much fun making this dish and can't wait for you to try it yourselves! Let me know how the process goes for you and feel free to send over pictures of your finished product.

Best,

Alina