Authentic Arabic & Levantine Recipes
Stuffed Vine Leaves Recipe (Warak Enab): Levantine Yabrak and Yalanji
Stuffed vine leaves (warak enab) are a Levantine classic made by rolling brined grape leaves tightly around short-grain Egyptian rice – either with spiced minced lamb (yabrak) or with herbs, tomatoes, olive oil and pomegranate molasses (yalanji). Weighted down in a pot, they simmer gently with garlic and lemon.
Also known as:Warak enab recipeSyrian yabrak and yalanjiMiddle Eastern stuffed grape leaves
Servings6
Prep time45 min
Cook time75 min
Ingredients
Add all ingredients to cart- 500 g preserved vine leaves, rinsed in warm water
- 400 g Egyptian short-grain rice, rinsed and soaked for 15 minutes
- 300 g minced lamb or beef with 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tsp seven-spice (or for vegan yalanji: 2 finely diced tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 bunch parsley and fresh mint)
- 1 large potato and 1 tomato, sliced into rounds to line the pot
- 1 head of garlic, separated into whole peeled cloves
- Juice of 2 lemons (plus 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses for the vegan version)
- 100 ml extra-virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper
Preparation Steps
- 1Rinse the brined vine leaves in warm water to remove excess salt, blanch them in boiling water for 3 minutes until pliable, drain and snip off the short stems.
- 2Combine the drained short-grain rice with the minced meat, ghee, seven-spice and salt (or mix the rice with the diced tomatoes, onion, chopped herbs, pomegranate molasses and half the olive oil for yalanji).
- 3Lay a vine leaf flat with the rough, veined side facing up and the shiny side down; place a teaspoonful of filling near the stem end, fold both sides inward and roll tightly into a neat cylinder.
- 4Line the bottom of a deep pot with a few torn vine leaves and the potato and tomato slices, pack the rolled vine leaves tightly in concentric layers with whole garlic cloves tucked in between, weigh down with an inverted heatproof plate, pour in about 700 ml of boiling salted water, lemon juice and olive oil, and simmer covered over very low heat for 75 minutes.
