Welcome to my favorite dish in the whole world, warak 3enib. They are grape leaves, beautiful stuffed with a spiced rice mixture of all the perfect blends you can think of. Once you bite into one of these, you'll be met with flavors that hit your whole palate! You get the citrus burst from the lemons, the coolness of the mint, and the incredible earthy flavors of the Middle Eastern spices used in this dish. Once you eat one, you won't be able to stop!
Sprinkle some sliced cherry tomatoes in the pot before cooking for a contrast of color against the leafy greens and some added texture and flavor!
Olive oil and lemon juice are the keys to making this dish perfect! Be sure to add plenty of each before cooking.
Warak 3enib, which translates to 'Grape Leaves' in Arabic have always been a staple in our home, and in many Middle Easterner's homes. They are everyone's favorite and whenever we heard that my mom or my grandma were making a pot of this delicious dish we would be excited all day! I always watched my mom cook this on the stove top, but I decided to try something different and make it in a slow cooker. This new way that I tried was amazing and I won't ever make warak 3enib any other way!
The spiced rice blend I used, is more of a Palestinian version and is mixed with so many different ingredients that help give this dish a lot of flavor. People make this dish with or without the ground beef (known as yalanji), so for my vegetarians, don't worry, this meal is perfect for you too! It's enjoyable on it's own, or with some stuffed peppers, soup, or other sides. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Prep Time: 1 hour Serves: 6 People
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 7 hours
INGREDIENTS
1 Jar of Grape Leaves (I prefer the Ziyad Brand)
1 1/2 cups Basmati Rice, uncooked
1 cup Tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. Fresh Mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
2 1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. 7 Spice
1 tsp. Allspice
3/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
3/4 tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 tsp. Dried Coriander Leaves
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 lb. Lean Ground Beef
For the Pot:
1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
4 oz. Tomato Sauce
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large bowl, add in the Basmati rice. Fill it with about 3 cups of very hot water. Allow the rice to soak for at least 20-30 minutes. Drain.
Add in the rest of the ingredients to the bowl of the pre-soaked rice, except for the beef, and mix until evenly combined. Taste test the rice mixture to see if it is lacking any salt or other spices. It should be on the more sour end.
Add in the ground beef and mix so that the beef gets evenly divided into the mix.
Open the jar of leaves and drain out the juice. You can rinse the leaves, but not too much so that they still maintain a more sour base. This tastes better when they cook.
Grab one grape leaf from the jar and place it so that the "veiny" side of the leaf is facing up. Place about a teaspoon amount of the rice mixture, (a little more if the leaf is bigger) at the wide base of the leaf. Begin rolling the leaf over the rice mixture firmly. Tuck in the leaf and then fold in the sides of the leaf towards the middle. Once the sides are tucked, continue rolling the rest of the leaf. (There is a link with step by step instructions on how to properly roll a grape leave below)
Do this with the rest of the leaves.
In the slow cooker, add 1/3 of the halved cherry tomatoes on the bottom. Begin layering the grape leaves on top of them, filling every space of the pot with a grape leaf as to leave no gaps.
Once you have filled the slow cooker halfway with grape leaves, add half of the olive oil, half of the lemon juice, and half of the tomato juice to the pot. This helps ensure that all the grape leaves get coated with as much juice as possible so they don't dry out. Add some more cherry tomatoes.
Finish filling the cooker with the rest of the grape leaves. Top them with the rest of the cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon juice, and tomato sauce.
Once all the contents have been placed in the cooker, slowly add water to the cooker until all of the grape leaves are covered in water. Do this carefully so the leaves don't move too much out of place or open up.
Cook the leaves on low for 6 hours, until rice is fully cooked.
Optional: you can drizzle some more olive oil and lemon juice on the dish right before serving.
Enjoy!
How To Roll a Grape Leaf:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXvfO7qy7w8
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