The following recipe was submitted to me by a talented chef named Durga Fuller–a devotee to low carb and “paleo-friendly” cuisine. The following is an example of culinary innovation at its best. –And we thought grape vines were only good for grapes!
1 pound ground meat of choice (lamb is delicious)
2 chopped onions
1/2 cup celery or greens (I used mustard greens)
4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (or 3 tsp dried)
2 – 3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
1 handful pine nuts
Celtic or other mineral salt and black or green pepper to taste
30 – 40 grape leaves, as large as possible
Butter
2 cups bone broth to match your meat (chicken for poultry meat, beef or lamb broth for a red meat filling)
Juice of a couple of lemons
Saute the onions and celery or greens until wilted. Mix all ingredients up to the grape leaves together in a bowl. Butter a pyrex or enamel cast iron oven casserole and line with any smaller grape leaves. Place heaping tablespoons of meat mixture on grape leaves, shiny side away from the mixture. Fold in the sides and roll them up. Place tightly together in the pan, open edge face down. Make two layers if necessary. Lay another layer of leaves on top when mixture is all used. Dot butter on top, and pour broth and lemon juice over all. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes to one hour, until meat is cooked to your liking (probably the whole hour for poultry).
This could be served with a tomato sauce or Avgolemono sauce, but we had it as is with mashed cauliflower and salad with tomatoes, olives and feta (for those of us who can have dairy). The kids loved it as much as we did. And it really only took a little more than an hour start to finish, which for a special dish like this is pretty good!
Wonderful! A favorite, and easy to prepare.