Koupepia

Ingredients

• Vine leaves — brined or fresh400 g
• Minced pork400 g
• Minced beef300 g
• Short-grain rice — uncooked200 g
• Onions2
• Tomatoes — grated4
• Ground cinnamon2 tsp
• Dried mint1 tbsp
• Parsley40 g
• Lemons2
• Olive oil80 ml
• Salt and pepperto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Scald the vine leaves for a minute and spread them on a cloth.

   15 min

2. 2

   Mix both minces with the raw rice, grated onion, tomatoes and herbs.

   15 min

3. 3

   Work in the cinnamon, mint, salt, pepper and half the olive oil.

   8 min

4. 4

   Put a spoon of filling on a leaf, fold the sides in and roll it into a tight cylinder.

   40 min

5. 5

   Line the pot with torn leaves so the rolls do not catch.

   6 min

6. 6

   Pack the rolls in tight layers seam down and weight them with a plate.

   10 min

7. 7

   Pour in water with lemon juice and oil and cook them an hour, covered, over a low heat.

   65 min

About the dish

The rice goes in raw. It takes up the meat and tomato juices as it cooks, whereas pre-boiled rice turns the filling to porridge.

The rolls are packed tight and weighted with a plate. Without the weight they float up and unwrap, and the pot ends up with rice loose from the leaves.

The cinnamon is not a dessert note here but the base of the flavour. Cypriot koupepia are recognised by it, and Greek dolma usually has none.

Worth knowing

• — Do not overfill the rolls. The rice doubles in size, and a tightly packed leaf splits along the seam.
• — Add water exactly level with the rolls. More and the koupepia overcook; less and the rice stays raw.
• — Test one roll from the edge. The rice should be soft and the leaf should cut without resistance.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

520 kcal

Protein

28 g

Fat

28 g

Carbs

40 g

More from Cyprus

• Souvla — Large pieces of pork or lamb on a spit, turning slowly over coals for two hours.
• Grilled halloumi with watermelon — Cypriot cheese seared to a crust, with cold watermelon and mint. The island's summer plate.
• Kleftiko — Lamb baked five hours in sealed clay with not a drop of water.