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Rosca de Reyes
Christina Morales, Caroline Lange, La Monarca Bakery
148 ratings with an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars
148
About 2 hours
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Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs almost clear, then soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
While the rice soaks, prepare the grape leaves: Drain the leaves, separating them slightly, and set in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the leaves until fully submerged and let stand for 15 minutes.
Drain the soaked rice, then let stand for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, parboil the lamb, short ribs or chuck roast, if using: Place your chosen meat in a pot just big enough to hold the pieces. Add enough cold water to barely cover. Bring to a boil over high, just until you see scum rise to the surface. Remove from the heat, discard the water, rinse the meat and set aside.
Make the rice filling: In a large bowl, combine the rice, olive oil, salt, tomato paste, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper and nutmeg; mix well. Add the ground beef and mix until evenly combined; set aside.
Drain and rinse the grape leaves thoroughly to remove the brine flavor. Stuff the leaves: Lay out as many of the leaves as will fit on a flat work surface with the vein side up and the stem end closer to you. (Aim for leaves that are about the size of an adult’s palm. If any are exceptionally bigger or smaller than that, set them aside to use for lining the pot later.) Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut out each tough central stem. Place 1 scant tablespoon of the rice filling above the cut-out stem section of each leaf. Using your fingers, spread the filling horizontally into a ¼-inch-thick log that is about 4 inches long, leaving a ½- to 1-inch border on either end. Fold the sides of the grape leaves over the filling, then, working from the end nearest to you, fold each leaf up to cover the filling, rolling away from you. Rolls should be tight enough that they hold but not so tight that there’s no space for the rice to expand. (If rolled too tightly, rolls may burst during cooking.) Repeat with the remaining grape leaves and filling.
Assemble the pot: If using lamb, short ribs or chuck roast steak, heat the 3 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven or nonstick pot over medium heat. Working in 2 batches if necessary, sear the meat for a couple of minutes on both sides until browned. Remove the pot from the heat and nestle the tomato slices between the meat to fully cover the bottom. If you are not using the meat, drizzle the bottom of the pot with the olive oil and cover it with the tomato slices in an even layer.
Creating one layer at a time, place the rolled grape leaves in either concentric circles or rows in the pot.
In a large measuring cup, whisk the chicken broth or water with the tomato paste, salt, allspice, cinnamon and pepper to combine; pour the mixture over the grape leaves. Cover it with a layer or two of the extra, unrolled grape leaves and top with an inverted heatproof plate that’s slightly smaller than the pot’s diameter. (This prevents the leaves from moving around when liquid comes to a boil.)
Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. After simmering, check the liquid content by tilting the pot to one side. If much more than a very thick trickle of liquid appears, then, using oven mitts or a tea towel to keep the inverted plate and leaves in place, carefully pour that liquid out into a very small pot or measuring cup and reserve (this can be used for reheating leftovers).
Remove the plate, slightly lift the edge of the unrolled leaves, pour in the lemon juice and let cook over low heat for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
To serve, discard the unrolled leaves on top. Select a serving dish slightly larger than the pot and invert the dish on top, then quickly — and very carefully — flip the pot and dish over, setting the dish on a surface and lifting the pot to reveal the stuffed grape leaves and meat, if using. (If you find the pot too heavy, then you can also use tongs to transfer the leaves and meat to the serving dish.) If you did not use a nonstick pot, some tomato slices may not release. You can discard them or scrape them out and add them to the platter.
Shake the platter gently back and forth to help the stuffed grape leaves come apart, so you can serve individual pieces. Serve generously (at least 10 to 15 per person), with plain yogurt on the side.
Excellent recipe. Again, I use family recipe for Dolma from Syrian mom. By all means follow this one. Helpful hint #1 - Google Dolma Video for visual in rolling the grape leaves. Hint #2 - Dolma freeze very well in Zip or Vacuum bags without the sauce in meal size portions, 6-12/bag. Freeze sauce in ice cube trays then put 5-10 in Zip bags, combine with thawed Dolma when heating up, suggest double boiler.
In our family (also Egyptian), my grandmother always added lots of minced parsley, onion & garlic to the filling (and in her version there was no cinnamon or allspice).....as well as some lemon juice. Rather than lamb chops, one can slice onions and place on the bottom of the pot (as well as the central stem from the leaves) or bones if one desires. I think it would be hard to not have delicious warrak einab....they are a labor of love and I've never met anyone who didn't find them delicious.
I made this for a winter solstice feast. It was worth the effort. I followed the advice of the other commenters to throw in a finely diced onion, chopped garlic, and parsley to the rice mix. I used a chuck roast, so I did not parboil the meat. I seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper, but cut down a bit on the salt in the broth. The meat was tender and the dolmas, delicious. The dish filled my dutch oven right up to the top - I had to keep a close eye on it so it wouldn't boil over.
As someone with an allium sensitivity, it is awesome to see a grape leaf recipe without onion or garlic. Thank you!
This looks delicious but our extended family is vegetarian. I was thinking of replacing the ground beef with chickpeas or crumbled paneer. What else might be a good substitute for the grape leaves and the chuck roast/lamb chops?
some one commented on adding in fresh garlic, onion and parsley...10\10 recommend doing so. Also added red chili flakes to the broth mixture for a little spice and it was wonderful.
Whenever we make grape leaves we allow them to cool completely COVERED. This allows rolls to retain natural greenish color, rather than blackening.
Persian/ Moroccan/Iraqi Jews eat stuffed grape leaves, as do the Greeks and many in southern Italy. I doubt any of them eat it with lamb chops and Chuck roast, or ribs though. Looking forward to trying this colossus.
I grew up on halupki (rice and ground beef rolled up in cabbage with a tomato based cooking liquid). The cooking and assembly of both are similar. It takes time to make so I would only make it for special family gatherings. Yes, it was that good and everyone loved it. I skipped the parboil step and added onions to the base of the pan so that things wouldn’t stick to the bottom. I placed quartered Campari tomatoes around the lamb. The grape leaves were easy to use and loved the flavors.
I’ve always had this made with 3tbs pomegranate molasses mixed into the rice stuffing and 1tbs mixed into the simmering liquid. Elevates the dish incredibly!
I made this for a winter solstice feast. It was worth the effort. I followed the advice of the other commenters to throw in a finely diced onion, chopped garlic, and parsley to the rice mix. I used a chuck roast, so I did not parboil the meat. I seasoned the steaks with salt and pepper, but cut down a bit on the salt in the broth. The meat was tender and the dolmas, delicious. The dish filled my dutch oven right up to the top - I had to keep a close eye on it so it wouldn't boil over.
Would like to know how much water or broth to use if cooking in a pressure cooker.
In our family (also Egyptian), my grandmother always added lots of minced parsley, onion & garlic to the filling (and in her version there was no cinnamon or allspice).....as well as some lemon juice. Rather than lamb chops, one can slice onions and place on the bottom of the pot (as well as the central stem from the leaves) or bones if one desires. I think it would be hard to not have delicious warrak einab....they are a labor of love and I've never met anyone who didn't find them delicious.
Excellent recipe. Again, I use family recipe for Dolma from Syrian mom. By all means follow this one. Helpful hint #1 - Google Dolma Video for visual in rolling the grape leaves. Hint #2 - Dolma freeze very well in Zip or Vacuum bags without the sauce in meal size portions, 6-12/bag. Freeze sauce in ice cube trays then put 5-10 in Zip bags, combine with thawed Dolma when heating up, suggest double boiler.
I make my Stuffed Grape leaves in a Lemon, Sliced Garlic & Mint Sauce. One squeezed lemon per cup of water. Garlic to taste…start 1 Clove/Cup. 1 Tsp dried Mint/Cup (gauge by taste). Rub mint in palm before adding. I put round metal wired cooling rack at bottom of pot, underneath that I put 4-6 sliced of Lemon, then Criss cross each row of leaves from bottom up. When all leaves in pot, I cover with the Sauce. Put 6 oz rock on plate so leaves don’t open. A beginning mistake by me.
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