Stuffed vine leaves

S+I used to make these a lot. We disagree over the origin - I remembered adapting them from a Delia recipe (where she made them similar to below, but then cooked them in tomato sauce which didn't work for us at all); he claims he's been making them since he was a kid from his German vegetarian cookbook. But then a couple of half-used packages of vine leaves languished in the fridge so long we didn't buy any more for ages. It's quite easy to find vine leaves in brine in Turkish shops. We also tried with fresh ones, and the process is similar - soaking in hot water to cook and soften a bit, rather than to rinse off salt.

We thought of these after feeling a bit like we didn't put in enough effort when we took cauliflower and breadcrumbs to the last work veggie lunch. Once a month we have a potluck lunch with other veggies in our Department. It's kind of a challenge thinking of something that is fun and tasty, travels well in a backpack on a bike, can sit in a box from the night before until lunchtime, and can easily be shared. Today's lunch was supposed to be a picnic, adding the extra challenge of eating outside, possibly without cutlery. These really rise to all those challenges! Sadly the weather didn't though - it looks like lunch will be indoors.

(makes about 30)

2 cups rice (any kind is OK), cooked in 4 cups water
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 mushrooms, roughly chopped
handful hazelnuts, roughly chopped
handful sunflower seeds
handful raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried oregano
handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
salt+pepper
About half a jar of vine leaves in brine

Cook the rice and let it cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until starting to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are browned. Add the hazelnuts and sunflower seeds and cook to toast a little. Add the cooked cooled rice, along with the raisins, cinnamon, oregano, parsley, tomatoes and tomato puree. Mix well and cook over a medium heat to try and get a little colour and crispy patches on the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste (remember the brine leaves are well salty if they are in brine so don't go nuts with the salt). When done, remove from the heat and let cool about half an hour or longer.

When ready to assemble, fill a large bowl or pan with nearly-boiling water (just cool enough to put your hand in). Take vine leaves from the package, check they are reasonably intact, and soak in the hot water for five minutes or so to rinse off some of the salt. Then remove, lay flat on a plate or board, with the stem end nearest you. Dollop 1-2 tbsp (depending on the size of the leaf) just next to the stem, then fold the leaves around it at the base and roll up towards the leaf tip. You should end up with a neat cylindrical package. Repeat until you run out of rice mixture or of leaves. They will keep in a box in the fridge for up to a week, and can be eaten cold or at room temperature.

Diced cucumber, tomato and feta salad with chickpeas

Cucumbers are so deliciously crunchy and crisp and delicately tasty and juicy. Perfect antidote to accidentally drinking too much coffee... again. Why not cut them into chickpea-sized pieces along with some cucumbers and a little bit of feta... add parsley and tasty bits and pieces, and crunch on it along with a bit of bread... whenever I cook chickpeas they disappear so fast!

1/2 cucumber, diced
6 ish small-medium tomatoes, diced
1 in piece of feta, diced
cupful of cooked chickpeas
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped capers
1 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt+pepper

Mix everything together, dress with olive oil, balsamic, salt+pepper. Done.


Nothing but simple food, and especially salads at the moment. S has been bringing lunch to work as well since we moved here, so it's kind of a fun challenge thinking of what will feed my appetite plus his.