When I’m buying plants for my garden, I always seem to forget a rather obvious fact: plants grow. And so during the summer I am in a constant battle to keep my grapevine from taking over the neighbor’s tree. It didn’t take me long, however, to realize that I can eat the detritus of this particular conflict.
The last few summers I’ve used the leaves as wrappers for dolmas. Once boiled, the fresh leaves become the perfect wrapping material: pliable but firm, they encase the filling and stay in neat little packages with no need for toothpicks or string. They have a lovely sour, almost lemony, edge that’s lost in the pickled leaves you'll find in a jar.
This year I wanted to use them in something besides dolmas, so I conducted a search on grape leaf recipes. I couldn’t find anything that used the leaves in a stew or a sauté. I could think of two reasons for this: 1) no one in the history of grape farming has ever thought to cook the leaves in that way or 2) people have thought of it but realized it was a bad idea.
I figured the latter was more likely, so I went with a recipe for grape leaf–wrapped rock cod. I wrapped chunks of cod in two layers of leaves and broiled them for a few minutes. The leaves charred, but the fish inside was tender and had taken on a smoky, woodsy flavor.
So maybe grape leaves’ use is limited to wrapping, but it’s a trick they do very well.
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I think you're on to something Mandy. Did you brush the leaves inside with oil or leave them dry? No matter the answer this was an excellent tip. Must make the fog stop stop short of the porch so we can fire up the grill. Summer's here!
ReplyDeleteI brushed them with oil, but I'm not sure if that does anything but cause them to catch fire more easily.
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