Warak enab

Ingredients

The leaves

• about 80 vine leaves
• fresh, or preserved in brine
• rinsed and soaked
• plus extra to line the pot

The filling

• 400 gshort grain rice
• Egyptian or risotto rice
• rinsed and drained
• 350 gminced lamb
• with real fat in it
• 2tomatoes, very finely chopped
• 3 tablespoonsolive oil
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonground allspice
• half a teaspoon black pepper
• half a teaspoon ground cinnamon

The Lenten filling

• 400 gshort grain rice
• 2onions, very finely chopped
• 3tomatoes, finely chopped
• a large bunch parsley, chopped
• a small bunch mint, chopped
• 100 mlolive oil
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 teaspoonground sumac
• salt and pepper

The cooking liquid

• juice of 4 lemons
• about 1 litre water
• 4 tablespoonsolive oil
• 4 clovesgarlic, whole
• 1 teaspoondried mint
• salt, to taste

To serve

• plain yoghurt
• lemon wedges
• a plate of raw vegetables
• flatbread

Directions

1. Pick them in late spring when tender. They should be bright green and soft. Rinse them under running water first. Then soak them in warm water twenty minutes. Taste the cooking liquid before salting it. Soak the whole roll before unpeeling it. Dry leaves tear as you pull them apart. Work gently and accept some tearing. Keep torn leaves for lining the pot. Cut the small stem off each leaf.
2. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Use minced lamb with real fat in it. Lean mince gives a dry crumbly result. Add the finely chopped tomato. Add the olive oil, which matters here. It keeps the filling from drying out. Add allspice, cinnamon and black pepper. Do not over-spice the mixture though.
3. Mix it all thoroughly with your hands. Fry a spoonful to check the seasoning. Combine the rice with chopped onion. Add the chopped tomato and the herbs. Use a great deal of parsley here. Mint should be present but not dominant.
4. Add the olive oil quite generously. Add the lemon juice and the sumac. Season it and taste it directly. Lay a leaf flat with the vein side up. Lay a thin line of filling near that end.
5. Use about a teaspoon for an average leaf. Do not overfill under any circumstances. Use less than instinct tells you. Fold the bottom of the leaf over the filling. Fold both sides in towards the middle. Roll it up firmly towards the leaf tip. Roll tight enough to hold together.
6. Leave enough room for the rice to swell. Aim for a roll about the width of a finger. Set each roll seam side down as you go. Use a wide heavy pot with a lid. Line the bottom with torn vine leaves. Lay them seam side down, side by side. Pack them close against each other. Tight packing is what stops them unrolling. Lay a heatproof plate over the rolls. Boiling liquid lifts them otherwise.
7. Mix water with a great deal of lemon juice. Add the olive oil and the dried mint. Taste it before adding any salt. Pour it over to just cover the rolls. Bring it to a boil over a medium heat. Cover the pot and simmer gently. Give it about an hour of gentle cooking.
8. Check the water level once or twice. Add hot water if it is running low. Lift one out and let it cool a minute. Cut it open and look at the rice. It should be completely soft throughout.
9. Squeeze extra lemon in the last ten minutes. That late addition keeps it sharp. Turn the heat off and leave it covered. Rest it for fifteen minutes at least. The rolls firm up and hold together. Serve it warm rather than piping hot.
10. Lift the rolls out with a slotted spoon. Arrange them neatly on the platter. Spoon a little cooking liquid over them. Serve plain yoghurt alongside. Serve extra lemon wedges as well. That one is served cold or at room temperature.
11. Let it cool completely in the pot. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top. Serve it as part of a mezze spread. It takes hours and it feeds many. Freeze them on a tray, then bag them. Cook them from frozen with extra time.

Technique

• The Lenten version, filled with rice, tomato, onion and herbs and served cold under plenty of olive oil, is not a compromise. It is a dish in its own right and many people prefer it to the meat version.
• Do not overfill. Raw rice swells enormously and an overfilled roll splits in the pot. Use less than instinct tells you — this is the commonest beginner mistake.
• The rice goes in raw. Cooked rice collapses to mush; raw rice swells and absorbs the lemon, which is the point.
• Rinse and soak brined leaves for twenty minutes with a change of water. The brine is very salty and unrinsed leaves ruin the dish beyond correcting. Taste the cooking liquid before adding any salt.
• The weighted plate is not optional. Boiling liquid lifts the rolls, they float and they unroll.
• Simmer gently, never boil. A hard boil tears the rolls apart.
• Squeeze extra lemon in the last ten minutes. Lemon added at the start loses its brightness over an hour, and that late sharpness is what makes the Lebanese version distinctive.
• Short grain rice — Egyptian or risotto rice — holds together in the roll better than long grain and gives a softer texture.
• Fry a spoonful of the meat filling to check the seasoning. You cannot taste it raw, and the Lenten filling you can taste directly.
• Palestinian warak dawali is the close cousin, distinguished by lamb chops layered beneath the rolls so they cook in the rendering fat. This dish and that one belong to a family running from the Balkans to Iran that predates every modern border; the atlas records the family and adjudicates no origin.

Substitutions

• Fresh young vine leaves replace brined ones; blanch thirty seconds and refresh in cold water, and skip the de-salting entirely.
• Minced beef replaces lamb; it must have real fat in it.
• Risotto rice replaces Egyptian short grain closely.
• Sumac can be left out of the Lenten filling, though it gives a characteristic fruity sourness.
• Chard or cabbage leaves replace vine leaves for a related but different dish.
• Lamb bones laid in the base of the pot enrich the meat version and move it towards the Palestinian style.

Variations

• Warak dawali in Palestine layers lamb chops beneath the rolls so they cook in the fat, and is served with the meat.
• The Lenten version is served cold with olive oil and lemon as part of a mezze spread.
• Turkish yaprak sarma, Greek dolmades and Armenian versions belong to the same family with their own spicing.
• Mahshi covers the wider family of stuffed vegetables filled with the same mixture.
• Some cooks layer sliced potato in the base, which absorbs the lemon and is served alongside.
• A version cooked with a little pomegranate molasses gives a deeper, darker sourness.

History

Vine leaves rolled thin and cooked under a weighted plate; the Lenten version is stuffed with rice alone.

Frequently asked questions

What is Warak enab?

Warak enab is a main from Lebanon: vine leaves rolled around rice and meat, simmered with lemon. Vine leaves rolled thin and cooked under a weighted plate; the Lenten version is stuffed with rice alone.

How long does Warak enab take to make?

Warak enab takes 2 hours of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Warak enab?

Yes, within limits. Fresh young vine leaves replace brined ones; blanch thirty seconds and refresh in cold water, and skip the de-salting entirely. Minced beef replaces lamb; it must have real fat in it. Risotto rice replaces Egyptian short grain closely. Sumac can be left out of the Lenten filling, though it gives a characteristic fruity sourness. Chard or cabbage leaves replace vine leaves for a related but different dish. Lamb bones laid in the base of the pot enrich the meat version and move it towards the Palestinian style.

What is the most important thing to get right in Warak enab?

Pick them in late spring when tender. They should be bright green and soft. Rinse them under running water first. Then soak them in warm water twenty minutes. Taste the cooking liquid before salting it. Soak the whole roll before unpeeling it. Dry leaves tear as you pull them apart. Work gently and accept some tearing. Keep torn leaves for lining the pot. Cut the small stem off each leaf.