warak enab (Lebanese grape leaves)

These Lebanese Warak enab are absolutely for meat lovers, and can be made with either lamb or beef. Loin chops line the bottom of the pot, shielding the grape leaves from scorching, while also becoming super tender as they simmer. The meaty stuffing is flavored subtly with a little bit of seven-spice blend. But most of the flavor comes from the tangy grape leaves and meat. With only 7 real ingredients, they’re so simple, yet so incredibly flavorful.

Feel free to jump to the recipe if you’re ready to go, or read through some helpful tips and tricks first. And don’t miss my whole collection of dolma and mahshi for lots of similar recipes (including vegetarian grape leaves).

How to stuff and roll the grape leaves

1. Start with the dull veiny side up on a cutting board.
2. Make a log with the filling in the center of the leaf.
3. Fold up the bottom of the leaf.
4. Fold the sides of the leaf up.
5. Roll up, putting a little pressure on the roll as you go.

Notes for first-timers:

Here are a few extra-helpful tips, which will be especially useful if you’re making grape leaves for the first time. They’re all woven into the following recipe, but I thought I’d give a little more context here.

1) Make the components ahead and keep it organized.

If the process seems a little daunting, you can make the components ahead the day before you plan to serve. Blanch and prep the grape leaves, make the stuffing, and store both separately in the fridge. Then the day you want to serve, stuff the grape leaves, build the pot, and let it simmer away.

2) Neither over- nor under-stuff your leaves

I’ve made grape leaves with a lot of friends, and you’ve just gotta know whether you’re an over-stuffer or an under-stuffer. Many recipes will tell you “don’t over-stuff your leaves,” but I’ve seen some folks make grape leaves who should definitely hear the opposite advice. See the photos in the recipe for a guide, and try to wrap them a little snugly, but not extremely tightly.

3) Make sure you blanch your grape leaves if they’re from a jar or vacuum-sealed bag.

I’ve included blanching instructions in the recipe below, so just make sure you don’t skip that step. It is 100% mandatory if you want to end up with edible grape leaves.

Reasons why you need to submerge them in hot water, instead of just rinsing them: 1) You need to rinse off the excess brine from the leaves. But just rinsing them under running water is not enough to get in between each leaf. To do so, you actually need to submerge them and swish them around. 2) The brine is sometimes a bit oily, so hot water keeps the brine from clinging to the leaves.

4) Use your own judgment about how much salt to add.

Even after rinsing your brined leaves, they’re still going to be quite acidic and salty. Taste them to get a sense of what you’re working with. Then decide how much salt to add to the simmering liquid and meat.

5) The dull, veiny side of the leaf should face the stuffing (the shiny, smooth side should face out).

You can achieve this by placing the dull, veiny side face-up before placing the stuffing on the leaf. There’s no real practical reason to go shiny-side-out, so feel free to interpret this step as optional. But if you want your grape leaves to look authentic, you’ll want to follow this instruction. They just don’t look quite as appetizing with their dull, veiny sides showing. I also have a suspicion that they hold together better this way.

One caveat: If you plan to bring a pot over to an auntie’s house, this step becomes 100% mandatory.

What sets Lebanese warak enab apart from other grape leaves:

There is no one right way to make warak enab. Recipes vary a ton from person to person. But from conversations with Lebanese friends, and from reading lots of other recipes, here are some things you can probably count on:

1) Delicately thin rolls

In my experience, Lebanese grape leaves are usually rolled into elegantly thin wands. This shape works great with a more meat-heavy filling, since it’s easy to shape the meat into a long line before rolling it up. If you can’t get them quite as thin as you’d like, no worries—they’ll still turn out great. Above all, just make sure you don’t over-stuff them.

2) Simple, hearty flavors

Vegetarian grape leaves are a whole other story. But meaty warak enab are not usually flavored with a ton of spices or herbs. It’s usually more about the flavor of the lamb/beef, lemon, and grape leaves.

3) A nice amount of olive oil

You’ll usually find a decent amount of olive oil in most recipes, both in the filling and in the simmering liquid. It makes them super rich, but not heavy. I learned this particular secret from chef Maria Bizri.

A world of grape leaves

There are lots of different kinds of stuffed grape leaves out there. Even within one country, you’ll find a ton of variation from region to region and family to family. Here are a few others to keep an eye out for:

• I grew up with Assyrian stuffed grape leaves (prakhe), which my family makes with a ton of parsley, dill, and cilantro. We often made ours vegetarian with mushrooms and walnuts.
• Syrian grape leaves (yabraq) are a little sweet and sour, like my friend Tony’s recipe, which has a ton of meltingly-tender whole garlic cloves.
• There’s a lot of regional variation within Palestinian grape leaves (warak dawali), and my friend Abeer’s recipe is flavored with lots of different vegetables on the bottom of the pot. Her recipe’s stuffing is also super flavorful, with seven spice and parsley.
• Persian grape leaves (dolmeh barg) are super fragrantly flavored and often folded into perfect pentagons.

All just to say, there is a ton of variety out there! These were just a few highlights, and there are about two dozen other regional variations I could’ve added to this list.

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