Yaprakis Con Avas (greek Dolmades)
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground meat
- 1/4 cup washed, uncooked rice
- 1 ts salt
- 2 TB oil
- grape leaves
- 1 pound great northern beans, cleaned and soaked overnight in cold water
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 ts salt
- 1/4 cup oil
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Mix first four ingredients. Mold into tiny cigar shapes. Roll each securely in a grape leaf. (Roll up once or twice from the bottom of the leaf, fold in the sides, and then roll the rest of the way. Don't roll too tight: the rice will expand some.) Place half of the beans in pressure cooker or large heavy pot with cover. Lay yaprakis on top in one closely-packed layer. Place rest of beans on top. Into water from beans put tomato sauce, salt, oil. Pour carefully into pot. Water should be 1"-1 1/2" higher than beans. Invert a china plate on top. Cover. In pressure cooker, cook 1 hour. In pot, cook 3 1/2 hours. When beans are tender as butter, squeeze juice of one lemon over all. Serve with rice. Note: The pressure cooker version comes out with slightly tougher grape leaves.