Preserved grape leaves are a standard ingredient in many Mediterranean cuisines. Greek dolmathes, those tasty little bundles of rice, herbs and spices wrapped in grape leaves, are perhaps the recipe best known to Americans. But they are also great for wrapping meat and fish for grilling or for wrapping goat cheeses during aging. A warm, wet spring here has meant that our grapes have gone crazy, sending out tons of vines and leaves that needed to be trimmed back to favor the development of grapes. Fortunately, preserving grape leaves is quick and easy. I easily fit 80 leaves in one liter jar, which should be plenty for this summer’s cooking.
By the way, I always assumed that the lemony flavor of dolmathes came from lemon juice added to the filling. But while working this recipe, I tried one of the fresh grape leaves and found it to have a distinctly lemony flavor all its own. I cant wait to wrap up a nice piece of merlu or cod for the barbecue this summer!
Ingredients:
- 80 grape leaves
- 7 T red wine vinegar
- 3 T kosher salt
- 2 T lemon juice
- Olive oil
Notes
Select grape leaves that are young and light green, between 5″ and 8″ wide. 
Preparation
- Sterilize a 1 liter glass canning jar with its lid and liner by plunging in boiling water for 5 minutes
- Wash the grape leaves well, then soak them for 10 minutes in a lot of cold water with 2 T red wine vinegar. Transfer the leaves to a strainer.
- Make a brine with 400 ml of water, 2 T salt, 2 T vinegar and 2T lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stir so that all the salt is dissolved and keep hot.
- Fill a large pot with water, add 1 T salt and 3 T of red wine vinegar. Bring to a boil. Blanch the leaves for three minutes then transfer them with a skimmer to a bowl of ice water. Cool completely.
- Take a stack of 10 leaves, fold in half and gently squeeze out as much water as you can. Transfer to your cutting board and continue for the rest of the leaves.
- Tightly roll each bundle into a neat roll and pack into the sterilized jar. The rolls should be short enough that there is at least 1/2″ headroom left in the jar. Cover the rolls of leaves with hot brine.
- With a spoon, press the rolls of leaves down to assure that they are completely submerged in the brine. Add a layer of olive oil to the top of the brine. This will help make an airtight seal for the brine and keep out bacteria.
- Closed the jar tightly with liner and lid. I have read recipes that say that, at this point, the leaves may be stored in a cool pantry. I think it is better to keep them in the refrigerator.
- To remove bundles of 10 as needed for recipes, first spoon off the olive oil, that will be solid if the jar has been stored in the fridge. Use a stainless spoon to remove the bundle and avoid putting your fingers into the brine – fingers carry bacteria! After removing the leaves you need, carefully remelt the olive oil and replace on the surface of the brine.