Warak Enab

Vine leaves rolled tightly around lemony rice.

Ingredients

• 300 g Vine leaves
• 2 cups Rice
• 300 g Ground lamb
• 2 Tomatoes
• ¾ cup Lemon juice
• ½ cup Olive oil
• 1 tbsp Seven-spice mix
• 4 Lamb chops
• 6 cloves Garlic
• ¼ cup Mint
• 2 tsp Salt
• 3 cups Water

Method

1. Blanch the leaves — Soften the vine leaves briefly in hot water.
2. Make the filling — Mix the washed rice with lamb, chopped tomato, spices, salt and half the oil.
3. Roll thin and tight — Place a little filling near the stem, fold the sides in, and roll into a slim cigar — thick rolls are considered careless.
4. Line the pot — Lay lamb chops and spare leaves at the base to stop burning.
5. Pack — Stand the rolls in tight circles and weigh them down with a plate.
6. Cook — Add water, lemon, garlic and mint and simmer gently 1 hour.
7. Warak Enab is ready — Rest 15 minutes before unpacking so they hold together.

More Lebanon recipes

• Hummus
• Tabbouleh
• Chicken Shawarma
• Kibbeh
• Fattoush
• Manakish Zaatar