🇲🇪 Montenegrin Cuisine

Japrak

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Prep Time 2 hours
Servings 6
Difficulty Hard
Calories 335 kcal

Tender vine leaves wrapped around a savory filling of rice, herbs, and minced beef, slow-simmered in a tangy tomato broth until meltingly soft.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Blanch vine leaves in boiling water 2 min if fresh; rinse if jarred. Pat dry.
  2. 2 Mix beef, rice, grated onion, half the tomato, herbs, paprika, oil, salt, and pepper.
  3. 3 Place a spoonful of filling on each leaf, fold sides in and roll tightly.
  4. 4 Line pot bottom with torn leaves. Arrange rolls seam-side down in tight layers.
  5. 5 Mix remaining tomato with lemon juice and 400ml water. Pour over rolls.
  6. 6 Place a plate on top to weigh down. Cover and simmer on low 1.5 hours.

Did You Know?

Montenegrin grandmothers judge a bride's cooking skill by how tightly and uniformly she rolls her japrak.