Skirt in the Kitchen
Right at the leaf, clip away from the stem. Choose good leaves. Best to do this in the spring and early summer, but I’ve got new leaves in early fall this year– the weather was sporadic this summer, not many scorching hot days– so I can do this now, having new leaves and still good ones on the vines. The grapes have all been picked.
Wash well; let soak, change out the water several times.
For 1 quart canned up, in a heavy saucepan, heat 1 quart of water and 1/4 cup sea salt. In a sterilized jar, thoroughly squeeze and strain the juice of 1 lemon– It will aid in preserving the grape leaves.
I want flavor and natural seasonings going in, settling and instilling into the leaves in the next few months up to 1 year of a continued preserve. I’ll add 1 to 2 dried peppers, a couple of smashed garlic cloves, chunks of red onion, some capers, a bay leaf, and lemon pepper. They’ll go directly into the jar of grapes rolled with clean meat string.
I’m stacking in uniform sizes 6 leaves per roll. I ended up with several different sizes of grape leaves. These will serve as wraps for a meat mixture and anything else I can imagine cooking them with in the months ahead.
Tie in a double knot, wrapping around rolls twice. Please, no bows. These will remain wrapped and tied in meat string in the jars canned, so I’m going to need some room in the jar.
Blanch in 4 cups boiling water to 1 cup sea salt in a separate pan– just barely tender. Immediately cold-shock them in an ice bath, cooling them completely in the water. Dunk frequently to get all sides chilled to stop the cooking process.
When cold, stand up to place the grape leave rolls in a quart jar. Add all the notions, including capers, not forgetting lemon pepper as well as the squeezed lemon juice,
a tall sprig of fresh rosemary,
and 4 to 5 Spanish Queen olives– pimiento-stuffed. Make sure everything has been put in the jar. Fill with the hot brine of 1/4 cup sea salt to 1 quart water– most importantly.
Continue canning in a hot water bath to preserve and seal tightly. The salty liquid and the peppers will continue to soften the grape leaves pliably. Store in a dark place.
When opened for cooking, rinse the stacked leaves, removing the salt brine before preparing into your favorite Greek or fushion cooking. Give this jar some time for grape leaves to set, soften, and season.
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