Lettuce Stuffed with Meat and Vegetables

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

1. 1
   Cook the rice in the water until half-cooked, and drain.

   StovePotColander
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
3. 3
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
5. 5
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
6. 6
   Add the rice, tomatoes, cumin, paprika, turmeric, salt and black pepper to the meat and stir.

   Stove
7. 7
   Add the parsley and remove from the heat.

   Stove

To assemble

1. 8
   Carefully separate the lettuce leaves, keeping them whole.
2. 9
   Place a little of the mixture in the center of each leaf, fold in both sides and roll up.
3. 10
   Arrange the rolls tightly in a wide pot, seam side down.

   Wide, shallow pot
4. 11
   Add the water until it covers the rolls to halfway up their height.
5. 12
   Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 35–40 minutes, until the rice and meat are done.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
6. 13
   Add the lemon juice 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
7. 14
   Serve hot with yogurt.