Lettuce Rolls

Stuffed vegetable dishes are common throughout Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. In this wonderful recipe adapted from one presented in Marian Morash’s The Victory Garden Cookbook (ISBN 978-0394707808), blanched lettuce leaves are used to wrap a lemony herbed rice filling. Getting the hang of rolling these lettuce-rice packets will take you a few attempts, so don’t dismay when your first few look a bit tatty. You’re fingers will figure out what to do an all of them will taste great, no matter their appearance.

12 large lettuce leaves, coarse central veins removed
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups basmati or other long-grain rice
¼ cup flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dry dill leaf
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cups stock

Blanch lettuce leaves in boiling water for one minute. Remove and drain. Let cool and pat dry.

Sauté onions in butter with sugar, salt and pepper until translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Stir in rice and let cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Mix together the partially cooked rice, onion sauté, herbs, lemon juice and pine nuts. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Place 1-2 tablespoons of the rice mixture on top of a blanched lettuce leaf, depending upon leaf size. Roll up by first folding over the sides to make a straight margin, and then roll tightly from the bottom up. Place lettuce-rice roll seam side down in a large pan. Repeat until all the lettice leaves have been used. If there is leftover rice, place it between the rolls in the pan. Gently pour stock into the pan, making sure to not break apart any of the rolls. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30-40 minutes until the rice is tender and all the stock has been absorbed. Let cool and garnish with olive oil.

Lettuce Rolls

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