Fyldte Vinblade

To make stuffed wine leaves is a little time consuming but it really pays off in the end - and you'll have enough of these gorgeous small packages for some days, a lot of friends, or a large family. 

Beside serving them with cold yogurt and lime or lemon (which is absolutely neccesary), a bulgur salad and hummus suits them very well indeed. 

Ingredients (40-45)
1 Package of wine leaves (vacuum packed)
2 Onions
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
50 g Almonds (chopped)
175 g Basmati rice
6 dL Vegetable boullion
3 tbs Broad-leaved parsley (chopped)
100 g Raisins (chopped)
2 tsp Lemon juice
Salt/pepper
1 1/2 dL Olive oil

Directions
Place the wine leaves in a large dish. Add boiled water and leave them herein for 20 minutes before rinsing well with cold water.
Meanwhile you can prepare the filling. Finely chop the onions and fry 2-3 minutes at medium heat in a little of the olive oil. Add cinnamon, paprika, cayenne pepper, almonds, and rice and fry for another 3-4 minutes during stirring. Add boullion and simmer under the lid for 10 minutes, or untill the rice is cooked and no liquid is left. Add parsley and raisins, adjust with lemon juice, salt & pepper and cool off.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the stalk end of each wine leaf and fold once, pressing the filling well into the end of the leaf. Tuck in the sides of the leaf and roll it up to make a tight cylinder.
Cover the bottom and sides of a large pot or sauté pan with unfilled wine leaves and place the stuffed wine leaves in one or two layers herein - important here is that they are packed tighly to avoid them to "brake up" during the boiling. Season with a little salt and pepper between each layer. Pour over the rest of the olive oil plus enough water to cover the packed leaves. Place a lid or plate topped with some weight, e.g. a can of tomatoes, on top of the filled wine leaves to keep them fixed to the buttom of the pot. Boil at low heat for 1 hour.
Cool completely off before serving with cold yogurt and lime or lemon.