Meat Filling for Grape Leaves, Cabbage Leaves, Peppers, and Tomatoes

Name: Meat Filling for Grape Leaves, Cabbage Leaves, Peppers, and Tomatoes
Yield: makes enough to fill 4 to 6 large tomatoes or peppers, 8 or more cabbage leaves, or up to 30 or so grape leaves
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil; 1 large onion, chopped; Salt and black pepper to taste; 1/4 cup long-grain rice; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 3/4 pound ground lamb, preferably from the shoulder; 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves; 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill leaves; Zest of 1 lemon, minced

December 14, 2011

The more-or-less standard meat filling for stuffed vegetables, made with a lot of herbs and spices. It’s so delicious that you can bake the vegetables with no sauce around them, as in the recipe on page 492, or use one of the preparations on pages 445–447. You can add pine nuts and currants to this mixture if you like or make the vegetarian version that follows.

Recipe notes

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