Stuffed vine leaves recipe

Stuffed vine leaves are a delicious authentic Greek dish. These flavour packed parcels are often served as part of a Greek mezze platter.

These vine leaves are filled with a mix of rice and fresh herbs, and can come in either vegetarian or meat filled varieties. Our vegetarian stuffed vine leaves are filled with a simple but mouth watering mix of rice, oregano and halloumi. Halloumi is a semi- hard, salty cheese that is popular in Greek and Cypriot cuisine. It’s firm texture makes it the perfect cheese for vegetarian alternatives. Once you’ve tried some in this recipe, why not explore other ways to cook with halloumi, such as serving it grilled as a BBQ side dish. A Greek style mezze platter of flatbreads, dips, grilled vegetables and stuffed vine leaves is a great sharing starter for dinner parties, or sharing appetizer for drinks parties. These stuffed vine leaves pair wonderfully with tzatziki, a Greek yoghurt based dip, or with a rich tomato dipping sauce.

Ingredients

• 8 vine leaves in brine, drained
• 4 x 120g slices of halloumi or goat’s cheese
• 30g cooked long-grain rice
•  2 garlic cloves, sliced Handful of fresh oregano leaves
• 1tbsp olive oil
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Place 2 vine leaves, overlapping each other at angles, on a work surface. Put a slice of cheese in the centre, sprinkle with rice, garlic, oregano and ground black pepper and pine nuts, if you like. Fold leaves over to make a parcel, enclosing the cheese.
2. Brush the parcels with oil and put them on the barbecue, or griddle, for about 4 mins. Turn them over and cook for a few more mins, until they feel squidgy as the cheese melts. Serve straight away, with the lemon wedges on the side.