Stuffed Grape Leaves

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Meatball mix

1. 1
   Cook the rice in boiling salted water about 10 minutes, until parboiled, and drain.

   ⚙ Cooking in salted waterStovePotColander

   💡The water should taste like a seasoned soup, not like sea water: a heaping teaspoon of salt per liter. Add the salt once the water is boiling.
2. 2
   Mix the ground meat with the rice, salt and black pepper until evenly combined.

To assemble

1. 3
   Place a little of the mixture in the center of each leaf, fold in both sides and roll up.
2. 4
   Arrange the rolls tightly in a wide pot, seam side down.

   Wide, shallow pot
3. 5
   Mix the lemon juice and olive oil and pour over the rolls.
4. 6
   Add the water until it covers the rolls partly.
5. 7
   Set an inverted plate on the rolls so they don't come apart while cooking.

   💡The plate keeps the rolls packed and whole while cooking, so they don't float or open.
6. 8
   Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 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.