#sfquickbites

Ingredients:

Grape Leaves (fresh or jarred)

Ground Meat: Either chicken, turkey, OR beef

¼ cup of rice

1 diced onion

1 bunch fresh parsley (chopped)

1 bunch fresh dill (chopped)

1 egg

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse grape leaves in cold water and snip off small stem/bud. Set aside

Combine ground meat,rice, onion, herbs, egg, and salt & pepper. Mix with hands. Dab one large teaspoon of mixture in the center of each grape leaf.

Roll grape leaves- push corners in, then roll from bottom up. Lightly drizzle olive oil on the bottom of a deep pot. Stack dolmas tightly in the pot. Fill with 1 cup of water. Cover and let cook for one hour. (Optional- for added flavor, place a few pieces of cubed apple in the pot)

Special thanks to Absulam Abdai & Alan Hyland for the recipe to this oh so delicious & popular item on their EireTrea food truck menu. Have a try at making this at home. While your brisket is simmering, go find their food truck on Twitter @EireTrea to get the bite without the wait. =)

The Meat 

5 lb brisket 1 medium onion 1/2 batch of celery 3 strings of rosemary 4 potatoes 4 cloves of garlic 4 medium carrots 8-10 cloves

1) Put all ingredients in a large pan and pour water until the meat is well covered.

2) Bring to a boil and let boil for an hour and half.

3) Transfer to a crock pot and let simmer over night or at least for 4 hrs.  

4) Turn off heat and let ingredients rest for about an hour.

5) Drain the juice, saving at least one cup for later.

6) Separate the brisket and veggies. Mash all the veggies together.

7) Cut the brisket, making sure to remove its fat first (I normally remove around 90% of the fat and leave the firm fat on). Cut brisket two ways, first along the lining of the fiber and then chop it down perpendicular to the lining into smaller chunks.

8) Mix brisket well with the mashed veggies and add about one cup of the broth. This will keep it moist and tender.

9) Cover the pot and put aside.

The Veggies

2 medium yams

2 medium sweet potatoes 4 potatoes, preferably white yukon potatoes 1 medium onion 1 small purple cabbage 1 small green cabbage 2 tbsp curry powder 4 garlic cloves 1/2 olive oil 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 2 branches of rosemary

Salt and pepper for seasoning

  1) Dice all the sweet potatoes, yams and potatoes into 1 inch cubes, cut the onion in two halves and slice it thinly.

2) Put all the ingredients in a pan except the cabbage and garlic.

3) Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Then turn off the heat.

4) Shred the cabbage and chop the garlic, then add to the pan, mix well, cover for about 5 min and you are done.

The Sauce

1 onion, finely chopped 1 tomato 1 clove garlic 1 tbsp spoon tomato paste 1/4 cub olive oil

1/2 tbsp salt and pepper mix

**2 tbsp Berbere (you can find it at Ethiopian stores or in the Bulk section at Rainbow)

**If you want to make your own Berbere at home, here is a recipe: 1/2 teaspoon cayenne 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground clove 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1) Put the tomato, garlic and tomato paste in a blender, adding a little water if needed.

2) Cook onion in a pan under medium high heat until it is transparent, then add the olive oil and cook until the onions are brown.

3) Turn the heat to low. Add the Berbere, salt and pepper; and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid burning the spices.

4) Crank up the heat to medium, add the tomatoes and cook for about 20 min.

5) Put the heat back on low, let sauce simmer for about an hour (the longer you let it simmer the better, just make sure it doesn't dry out).

6) Add sauce to the brisket corned beef.