A traditional Greek recipe from Thekla Panayi’s grandmother. This dish would have been served as part of a Sunday dinner.

Ingredients

• 50-60 grape leaves (Can be bought locally in a jar, Thekla likes a brand called Krinos)
• 3 large onions, sliced vertically halfway through
• 1 lb. ground beef and 1 lb. ground pork
• 2 Cups tomato sauce, divided
• 1 Cup long grain rice, washed
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• ½ Cup fresh parsley
• ¼ Cup olive oil
• 2-3 Lemons (could take more depending on taste)
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• Salt, pepper, cinnamon

Instructions

In a skillet sauté the chopped onion in olive oil and add the meat, cook until no more pink. Add the tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Add the rice, parsley, mint and the spices along with the juice of 2-3 lemons. Mix everything together and cook a few minutes. Check for taste and add more seasoning and lemon juice if desired.

In a large pot bring water to a boil, add the 3 onions to cook for about 5-10 min. until softened, add the grape leaves to the pot to soften. Drain the onions and we are ready to roll the grape leaves and stuff the onions. Separate the layers of the onions and remove the membrane between the layers.

Place a layer of grape leaves or potatoes in the bottom of a baking pan. (This keeps the stuffed grape leaves from sticking to the pan.) Mix together water (about 1 ½ Cup), olive oil (about ¼ Cup), tomato sauce (about ½ Cup) and juice of 2 lemons with about 1 tsp. of dried mint. Set aside.

Place a spoonful of meat mixture in onion and roll it up so the edge overlaps and place in prepared pan. To roll grape leaves, lay leaf on a plate with the vein side up, place a spoonful of meat mixture on leaf and begin rolling from the stem side of the leaf and squeezing the meat mixture together, turn in the sides and continue rolling and squeezing together. If leaf is small you may use 2 leaves overlapped. Arrange rolled grape leaves and stuffed onions in pan, squeezing them together. Pour the tomato sauce mixture over all in the pan. Arrange a layer of grape leaves on top and cover with parchment paper and foil, bake for 2 hours at 350°.

They are done when most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from oven and take off the foil and parchment paper, remove the leaves on top and serve.

You may also stuff tomatoes by scooping out the core and seeds and filling the center with meat mixture, bell peppers are also good done this way and added to the pan.

These freeze well or can be kept refrigerated for a day or two before baking.