Stuffed Vine Leaves

Method:

Blanch the vine leaves in a large pan of boiling water for two minutes. Drain and set aside.

Place the stock, rice and lentils with the garlic, capers, olives and fennel seeds in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until cooked. Allow to cool and mix in the chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place a vine leaf ribbed side down and put a couple of teaspoons of mixture at the bottom edge of the leaf in a sausage shape. Roll the leaf around the filling, tucking in the edges. Place in an oiled, shallow ovenproof dish. Continue filling the leaves, packing them closely in the dish.

When you’ve run out of filling or leaves, pour the pasta sauce over the stuffed vine leaves, and sprinkle over the lemon juice and rind. Cover the dish tightly with aluminium foil and bake for an hour.

Ingredients:

• 30 vine leaves, stalks removed
• 2 C vegetable stock
• 1 C Arborio rice
• 1 C red lentils
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp capers, chopped
• 12 olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• Large handful of chopped mint and chives
• 400ml tomato pasta sauce
• Juice and rind of 2 lemons