Stuffed Grape Leaves

 
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Ingredients
1 jar of grape leaves
1 cup rice long grain
2 medium sized tomatoes
0.7 oz fresh mint
3.5 oz fresh parsley
5 green onions
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup olive oil
1 small lemons  sliced

Instructions
For this recipe, you can use either fresh grape leaves or preserved vine leaves. If using fresh vine leaves, wash very well, and blanch with boiling water for 1-3 minutes to soften, then rinse and allow to cool completely.
Cook  the rice thoroughly. Next, finely chop all the veggies and add them to a large bowl. You can do this by hand or use a food processor for a finer chop.
Add all of the stuffing ingredients to a large bowl and mix well to thoroughly combine.
Time To Assemble And Roll
Lay your leaves out with the leaf 'bottom' side up (where you can feel all the leaf veins), with the shiny side down. And spoon one teaspoon of the rice mixture onto each leaf.

Mine may look quite 'full'- but it's important to remember that the herbs will wilt as the rice grows too.
To roll the leaves is fairly simple. Bring the two sides in and then roll to close- similarly to rolling spring rolls. Roll tightly.
Time To Cook
Place the stuffed grape leaves in 3 Qt with culinary basket  
Make sure they are tightly packed into the pan. This will stop them from moving and falling apart while cooking. Place lemon slice on the top of them.
Cook medium click low for 35 mins.
Remove from the heat, once cooked. You can leave them to 'rest' for 20-30 minutes, for best results. But, if you can't wait, then they are ready to eat immediately.