Vine Leaves

[neily_weily]

hey!!!....I'm wanting to make stuffed vine leaves and could only buy vine leaves in salted water and was just wondering if i can use it the same way as other vine leaves or do i have to pre cook it in some sort of way????

any help???

thank you anyway!!!

[Tigerlily]

I'm not sure, I would rinse them off to get rid of the extra saltiness.

We grow our own vine leaves. It's too cold up here for the plant to make grapes (we just get dark purple sour buds), but the leaves still grow. My mom takes them off and freezes them for winter use. Maybe you could look into that? Grape vines are pretty easy to grow...unless you live in an apartment, I guess.

[Mystic]

Yum I love stuffed vine leaves!!!! I buy them from my local middle eastern grocer. And they also bake fresh pita there. They also have stuffed cabbage leaves, mejudarrah, falafel, tabbouli and a rice salad with chickpeas. Oh and they have baked pita with olive oil and zataar...and hummus, baba gannouj and tahini sauce. And lots of dates :D I love that shop!!!

[abrennan]

Yum I love stuffed vine leaves!!!! I buy them from my local middle eastern grocer. And they also bake fresh pita there. They also have stuffed cabbage leaves, mejudarrah, falafel, tabbouli and a rice salad with chickpeas. Oh and they have baked pita with olive oil and zataar...and hummus, baba gannouj and tahini sauce. And lots of dates :D I love that shop!!!

I love that shop too:D

[adam antichrist]

Dolmades are supposed to be made with pickled vine leaves, so if the leaves are in brine they have done the pickling for you. Just add your stuffing and roll them up! :)

[Risker]

I'm looking for some vine leaf recipes, I ordered stuffed vine leaves but they didn't have them in stock so have given me a massive jar of vine leaves in brine instead.

I've only had rice stuffed vine leaves before, which I don't mind making, but the problem is I think there's so many vine leaves that by the time we got through them all the rice filling might be a bit delicious but deadly.

Any ideas of what else to fill them with? Preferably recipes that I can do in a decent batch and will last a while.

Are they any good in salads?

The jar says to use within 7 days of opening so I've gotta get some planning in before I open it. (Realistically I expect they'll last longer, but still).

[harpy]

I've only ever had stuffed ones but they stuff them with different fillings, not just rice. Maybe you try doing some stuffed with something like Sosmix (or homemade nut roast type substance)? I have also seen recipes where the leaves are wrapped around cheese so you could try that with non-dairy "cheese" though it doesn't sound that appetising :p

Got a feeling they sometimes use them in layers in moussaka-type dishes as well but can't find a recipe except this http://societygrapevine.com/2012/07/recipe-canape-management/ which seems a bit different.

Never had them in salad and suspect they might be bit tough/stringy but you have enough to experiment.

I wonder if you could freeze the excess leaves and stuff them later (as suggested here for fresh ones) http://mamastaverna.com/how-to-prepare-grape-leaves-for-dolmades-ampelofylla-yia-ntolmades/ Not sure if it would work with briney ones.

[peanutbutter]

I think they'd be nice with dressed puy lentils inside.