Japrak

Ingredients

Leaves

• 40vine leaves in brine, or leaves from a head of soured cabbage

Filling

• 400 gminced beef and lamb
• 150 gshort-grain rice
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 1 tsppaprika
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 1 tspdried mint
• 2 tbspoil

Pot

• smoked ribs or bacon
• 500 mlstock
• 1 tbsptomato paste

To serve

• sour cream or yoghurt

Directions

1. If using brined vine leaves, rinse them thoroughly in several changes of water to take out the salt, then pour boiling water over them and leave them 10 minutes to soften.
2. Rinse them properly. Brined leaves carry a great deal of salt and an unrinsed batch makes the whole pot inedible.
3. If using soured cabbage, separate the leaves carefully and shave the thick ribs flat.
4. Fry the onions in the oil until soft and golden, and let them cool.
5. Mix the meat with the uncooked rice, the fried onion, paprika, salt, pepper and mint.
6. The rice goes in raw. It swells inside the roll as it cooks and takes up the meat juices, and pre-cooked rice bursts the leaf.
7. Use less filling than you think. A heaped spoon looks right and splits the roll open in the pot.
8. Lay a leaf vein side up, put a small spoonful near the stem end, fold the sides in and roll it up firmly but not tightly.
9. Line the bottom of a heavy pot with torn spare leaves and the smoked ribs.
10. Pack the rolls in tightly, seam side down, in close layers.
11. Packed tight they hold their shape without tying; loose, they unwind and the filling escapes.
12. Mix the stock with the tomato paste and pour it over to just cover.
13. Weight the rolls down with an inverted plate, cover, and simmer very gently for about 1 hour 30 minutes.
14. The plate is what stops them floating and unrolling as the water moves.
15. Let them rest in the pot for 20 minutes before serving, warm rather than hot, with sour cream.
16. Vine leaves are the summer version and soured cabbage the winter one, which is how the same dish runs through the year in Kosovo.

Technique

• Fresh vine leaves in season need only a minute in boiling water rather than a long soak.
• They are better the next day and are usually made in large batches for that reason.
• The smoked ribs in the bottom of the pot flavour everything above them and are eaten too.

Substitutions

• Soured cabbage leaves in winter.
• All beef, or all lamb, in place of the mix.

Variations

• Meatless, with rice, onion and herbs only, for fasting.
• With a yoghurt and egg sauce poured over at the end.
• Sarma, the same dish under the name used across most of the Balkans.

History

From Turkish yaprak, leaf; Kosovar cooks use sour cabbage in winter and fresh vine leaves through the summer.

Frequently asked questions

What is Japrak?

Japrak is a main from Kosovo: vine or sour cabbage leaves rolled around rice and minced meat. From Turkish yaprak, leaf; Kosovar cooks use sour cabbage in winter and fresh vine leaves through the summer.

How long does Japrak take to make?

Japrak takes 1 hr of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30 rolls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Japrak?

Yes, within limits. Soured cabbage leaves in winter. All beef, or all lamb, in place of the mix.

What is the most important thing to get right in Japrak?

Rinse them properly. Brined leaves carry a great deal of salt and an unrinsed batch makes the whole pot inedible.