Lentil-Chestnut Stuffed Grape Leaves for #HandCraftedEdibles

In an effort to make all of my holiday gifts this year, we are sharing recipes for hand-crafted edibles. Over the course of twelve weeks, we'll be sharing recipes that you can make at home to give to friends and loved ones, or things to serve at holiday parties. We hope you'll follow along for inspiration. You can find out more information, including the schedule: here.

This week, we are "going nuts" and sharing all sorts of recipes with nuts. Think spiced nuts or nutty fruit cake or whatever floats your nutty boat!

Here's what we're posting this week...

• Amy's Cooking Adventures shared her Salted Chocolate Cashew Butter
• Cookaholic Wife cooked up Slow Cooker Cinnamon Almonds
• Making Miracles made Honey Roasted Almonds
• Christmas Tree Lane posted Crockpot Spiced Nuts
• A Day in the Life on the Farm wrote about the Easiest Nut Brittle in the World
• Sew You Think You Can Cook prepared Orange Rosemary Roasted Almonds
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla rolled some Lentil-Chestnut Stuffed Grape Leaves
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla blended together some Pistachio Dukkah

Next week - week 10 - check back for our recipes to inspire you as we let our confectioner’s skills shine. Think truffles, barks, anything and everything with chocolate. Don't forget to check out our #handcraftededibles pinterest board.

Lentil-Chestnut Stuffed Grape Leaves

Stuffed grape leaves are a family favorite. I usually make them with whatever meat and whatever grain I have on hand. This I decided to make vegan, utilizing the meaty chestnuts that begin to appear in markets during the holiday season. Besides, it's one of my favorite Christmas carols...

Ingredients

• 2 C cooked lentils (I used black lentils)
• 1/2 C caramelized onions
• 1/4 C chopped olives (or use an olive tapenade)
• 1/2 C cooked chestnuts, peeled roasted and slightly smashed
• freshly ground salt and pepper
• handful of fresh parsley, roughly-chopped
• 2 T fresh tomato sauce
• organic lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 T liquid (use wine, veggie broth, or water - I used Strega, a saffron liqueur)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the lentils, caramelized onions, olive and chestnuts. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato sauce and fresh parsley.

Place a tablespoon of your filling in the center of a grape leaf. Keeping constant pressure, roll the grape leaf into a packet. Because my grape leaves were so small, I used two for each roll.

Arrange the rolls in a baking dish. Lay slices of lemon over the top.

Fill your pan with water so that the water comes to the top of the rolls. Add a splash of olive oil and your wine or liqueur. Lay grape leaves over the top.

Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 90 minutes, until the liquid is completely absorbed and the rolls are soft.

Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.