Stuffed Vine Leaves in Oil ( Warak Inab Bilzeit) Recipe

This is a vegetarian recipe, and I must say that Stuffed Vine leaves in Olive Oil is an essential dish from our rich Lebanese Mezze. It is so delicious and light that you can easily eat a small plate alone before having your main meal.

Ingredients:

100 grams of vine leaves, blanched and ready to cook ( you can use the preserved ones too)
1/2 cup of short grain rice
2 tablespoons of parsley, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium red tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon seven spices
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil+ one extra tablespoon for cooking
your choice of thinly sliced vegetable, such as onion, tomato, carrot or even potato (I used sliced onions)

Preparation:

Prepare the stuffing by mixing the washed rice with the parsley, onion, tomato, salt, spices lemon juice and the olive oil well

Place a vine leave face down and stuff it with one teaspoon of the mixture of rice for filling in the center, fold the two sides toward the center then roll it in a cigar shape

When you finish all the quantity of the vine leaves and stuffing, prepare the pot, place the tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pot, cover the base of the pot with your choice of sliced vegetable, place all the stuffed vine leaves in the pot

Pour water to cover the vine leaves by about one inch, place a plate upside down over them to prevent the vine leaves from opening during cooking. Adjust the salt and lemon as desired

Cook on a medium heat and when it starts boiling reduce the fire and let it cook gently for about 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and tender

Turn upside down on a plate and it’s ready to serve