Sarah Afana, who had come to New York to go to culinary school, came to me some time ago as an intern to help us on a couple of projects.  She quickly went from being an intern to being “the boss.”  Not only can she cook, she is an unbelievable baker, a whiz on the computer, and far more organized than I have ever been.  I don’t know what we’d do without her.
Earlier this year, she brought me a jar of grape leaves that had been canned by her family on their ranch in California.  I kept saying “we have to make stuffed grape leaves” but, until this past week, the job was left undone.  And, guess who did it…Sarah, of course.  The end result was delicious and very unlike any commercially canned I had tasted.  Here’s Sarah’s recipe along with some photos of her at work.    You can have the recipe, but you can’t have Sarah!

½ pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, peeled, trimmed, and finely diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
About 30 canned grape leaves, rinsed and dried or about 30 fresh leaves
1 lemon, preferably organic, cut, crosswise, into thin slices
3-5 cups chicken stock or canned  nonfat, low-sodium chicken broth
Juice of 1 lemon

Combine the ground beef with the onion, carrot, garlic, rice, pine nuts, parsley, and mint in a large mixing bowl.  Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, mixing to evenly distribute.
Working with one leaf at a time, lay a leaf, vein side up, on a clean, flat work surface.  Place about 1 tablespoon of the meat filling at the widest end of the leaf just below the center.  Fold the leaf up and over the filling and tuck in the sides.  Then, roll the leaf up and over the filling to make a neat, cigar-like roll.  As finished, place the stuffed leaf in a large Dutch oven, seam side down.
Continue stuffing the leaves until you have used up all of the filling.  Pack the stuffed leaves tightly into the Dutch oven.  You don’t want to leave any space between them as this will held hold them firmly in place.
When all of the leaves are filled, lay the lemon slices over the top.
Combine 3 cups of the stock with the lemon juice.  Pour the stock mixture over the leaves to cover by about ½-inch.  Add more chicken stock, if necessary.
Cover the leaves with a heavy lid or heat-proof dinner plate to keep them from rising as they cook.  Place over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for about 35 minutes or until the rice and meat filling is thoroughly cooked, adding adding additional stock if necessary.
Remove from the heat and set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes, still weighted.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

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