Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Another recipe from Martha Stewart! Say what you will — and I am the first one to make fun of her — but her recipes are good and they all work. That’s the benefit of having a staff of thousands in your test kitchen and money to burn, I guess! I love stuffed grape leaves, but I usually make the same kind. Why not get creative? Instead of meat and rice how about goat cheese and couscous?
Ingredients
(This recipe makes 30 pieces)
1 9-ounce jar of grape leaves
1/3 cup dry couscous
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 small tomato, seeds removed, chopped into small dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 7-ounce logs goat cheese, cut into 1/4 inch disks
Procedure
First prepare the grape leaves by rinsing them and separating the leaves. Put them in a roasting pan, cover with boiling water and let them cool. Then rinse, trim off stem ends and dry them in paper towels and set aside.
In a small saucepan, boil 1/3 cup of water with cumin, then add couscous. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and add diced tomato, parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and lemon juice. You should over-season the mixture.
To assemble, lay out 10 leaves on your table put one disc goat cheese in center and top with 1 heaping teaspoon of couscous mixture. Fold bottom to middle then fold in sides and roll up. Dab edges with olive oil to help them stick together. Stuffed leaves can be prepared in advance to this point. Heat grill or non-stick pan, brush stuffed leaves with olive oil, place on grill smooth side down, and cook until lightly browned (about 2 minutes). Turn over carefully and cook other side. Serve warm.
