Cardamom and Tea

Warak Enab (Lebanese grape leaves)

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These Lebanese warak enab are pure comfort food for meat lovers. Whether you choose lamb or beef, you’re in for a treat.

Picture this: tender loin chops nestle at the bottom of the pot, shielding the grape leave from scorching while becoming irresistibly fall-apart tender in the process.

The stuffing keeps it simple with just 7 real ingredients, but there’s no shortage of flavor. This recipe is proof that you don’t need a mile-long ingredients list to make an unforgettable dish.

Jump to the recipe if you’re ready to go, or read through some helpful tips and tricks first. And don’t miss my whole collection of dolma and mahshi for lots of similar recipes (including a few vegan versions).

warak enab rolled in a pile
warak enab in a pot

How to stuff and roll the grape leaves

Stuffing and rolling grape leaves takes a little bit of know-how. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. Here are step-by-step instructions, as well as GIFs of my mom rolling up the vegetarian version of this recipe.

rolling grape leaves: adding the filling

1. Start with the dull veiny side up on a cutting board. Make a log with the filling in the center of the leaf.

rolling grape leaves: folding up the bottom

2. Fold up the bottom of the leaf.

rolling grape leaves: folding up the sides

3. Fold the sides of the leaf up.

rolling grape leaves: rolling it up

4. Roll up, putting a little pressure on the roll as you go.

Guide for warak enab first-timers:

If you’re making grape leaves for the first time (or if it’s been a while!), I’ve got you covered. All of the following tips are woven into the recipe, but here’s everything you need to know:

1) Start the day before if you can.

If the process seems a little daunting, you can make the components ahead the day before you plan to serve. Blanch and prep the grape leaves, make the stuffing, and store both separately in the fridge. Then the day you want to serve, stuff the grape leaves, build the pot, and let it simmer away.

2) Use the right amount of stuffing per leaf.

Many recipes will tell you “don’t over-stuff your leaves,” but I’ve seen some folks make grape leaves who should be told the opposite advice. See the photos in the recipe for a guide, and try to wrap them a little snugly, but not extremely tightly.

3) Make sure you blanch your grape leaves if they’re from a jar or vacuum-sealed bag.

I’ve included blanching instructions in the recipe below, so just make sure you don’t skip that step. It is 100% mandatory if you want to end up with something edible.

Why not just give them a quick rinse instead of fully submerging them in water? Soaking helps rinse off the extra brine better than running water—it gets between the leaves. Plus, the hot water helps remove any oily residue so the leaves are clean and ready to roll.

salting chicken breasts

4) Use your own judgment about how much salt to add.

Even after rinsing your brined leaves, they’re still going to be quite acidic and salty. Taste them to get a sense of what you’re working with. Then decide how much salt to add to the simmering liquid and meat.

warak enab in process

5) The dull, veiny side of the leaf should face the stuffing (the shiny, smooth side should face out).

Place the dull, veiny side of the grape leaf facing up before adding the stuffing. There’s no real rule saying you have to. But for that classic, glossy look, it’s worth it. They just look more appetizing this way, and I have a feeling they hold together a little better too.

One caveat: If you plan to bring a pot over to an auntie’s house, this step becomes 100% mandatory. 😉

What sets Lebanese warak enab apart from other grape leaves:

There is no one right way to make warak enab. Recipes vary a ton from person to person. But here are some things you can probably count on:

1) Delicately thin rolls

In my experience, Lebanese grape leaves are usually rolled into elegantly thin wands. This shape works great with a more meat-heavy filling, since it’s easy to shape the meat into a long line before rolling it up. If you can’t get them quite as thin as you’d like, no worries—they’ll still turn out great. Above all, just make sure you don’t over-stuff them.

2) Simple, hearty flavors

Vegetarian grape leaves are a whole other story. But meaty warak enab are not usually flavored with a ton of spices or herbs. It’s usually more about the flavor of the lamb/beef, lemon, and grape leaves.

3) A nice amount of olive oil

You’ll usually find a decent amount of olive oil in most recipes, both in the filling and in the simmering liquid. It makes them super rich, but not heavy. I learned this particular secret from chef Maria Bizri.

warak enab in a pot
warak enab on a tray

A world of grape leaves

There are lots of different kinds of stuffed grape leaves out there. Even within one country, you’ll find a ton of variation from region to region and family to family. Here are a few others to keep an eye out for:

  • I grew up with Assyrian stuffed grape leaves (prakhe), which my family makes with a ton of parsley, dill, and cilantro. We often made ours vegetarian with mushrooms and walnuts.
  • Syrian grape leaves (yabraq) are a little sweet and sour, like my friend Tony’s recipe, which has a ton of meltingly-tender whole garlic cloves.
  • There’s a lot of regional variation within Palestinian grape leaves (warak dawali), and my friend Abeer’s recipe is flavored with lots of different vegetables on the bottom of the pot. Her recipe’s stuffing is also super flavorful, with seven spice and parsley.
  • Persian grape leaves (dolmeh barg) are super fragrantly flavored and often folded into perfect pentagons.

All just to say, there is a ton of variety out there! These were just a few highlights, and there are about two dozen other regional variations I could’ve added to this list.

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Warak Enab (Lebanese grape leaves), beef or lamb

warak enab in a pot
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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Prep Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

  • About 125–150 grape leaves, jarred or vacuum sealed (about 600g after draining)
  • ½ tsp neutral oil
  • 7 to 10 small lamb* chops (450-650g)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 pounds ground lamb * (905g)
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked medium grain rice, rinsed (300g)
  • 2 teaspoons Lebanese baharat ** (3g)
  • 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (80g), divided in half
  • 2 cups stock or water (480g)
  • 2/3 cup lemon juice (160g)

Instructions

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Notes

* To make this recipe with beef instead of lamb, use ground beef for the filling instead of ground lamb, and use potato slices or scraps of beef in place of the lamb chops.

** If you don’t have a baharat blend, you can substitute 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp sweet paprika, and 1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds. If you don’t have coriander seeds, use a pinch of cinnamon instead.

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upside-down plum cake + A Dish for All Seasons (my book!)

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Exciting news! My cookbook, A Dish for All Seasons is available for preorder wherever books are sold! 🎉 I am so excited to share it with you. Preorders are a huge help to new authors, so if you reserve a copy, please do message me so that I can thank you. 😊

This book flips the script on seasonal cooking. It’s made up of adaptable base recipes, like frittatas, grain bowls, and (you guessed it!) upside-down cakes. You can adapt each base recipe to feature whatever produce you’ve got. And each one comes with four beautiful seasonal variations.

So go to the market without a plan and just see what inspires you. Or choose a recipe and rest assured that you’ll actually be able to find the ingredients. (I mean, ever gone to the store hoping to find persimmons in spring or good tomatoes in late fall? Just me?).

plum upside down cake, shot from the side
A Dish for All Seasons, opened to the upside down cake section, with cake off to the side

For instance, here are the four seasonal upside-down cake recipes (pictured above):

  • chocolate apricot raspberry cake (summer)
  • fig semolina honey cake (fall)
  • pineapple gingerbread cake (winter)
  • strawberry rhubarb chocolate cake (spring)

Or if you don’t feel like following a recipe, you could come up with something else entirely. Like this cinnamon plum cake! Or a cherry chocolate cake *or* semolina peach cake *or* vanilla blueberry cake, or really whatever’s on your mind! Just use the seasonal produce charts and base recipe, and you’re all set.

plum upside down cake, shot from overhead, just the plums in the bottom of the pan before batter is poured on
plum upside down cake batter being smoothed out

Since I make so many things over and over again while recipe testing, I never like making the same thing more than once when I’m just cooking for fun. So instead of making one of the seasonal variations from the book, I thought I’d have fun using the base recipe to make something totally new.

I love the combination of cinnamon and plums, which work beautifully in this upside-down plum cake. I tweaked the cake batter a little to incorporate olive oil instead of butter, and brown sugar instead of granulated. Plums are on their way out of season here in Australia, but you should start seeing them in supermarkets in the northern hemisphere in the next couple weeks. Eek! Very exciting.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this one, or reserve a copy of A Dish for All Seasons and make your own upside-down cake, or your own whatever! And if you do, let me know what you come up with!

plum upside down cake, baked
plum upside down cake, flipped over and the pan being removed to reveal the cake underneath
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upside-down plum cake

plum upside down cake, shot from overhead
Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4 from 1 review

adapted from A Dish for All Seasons

  • Author: Kathryn Pauline

Ingredients

For the fruit:

  • 3 Tbsp [40 g] extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup [100 g] dark brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 cups [300 g] 1/2-inch thick plum slices

For the batter:

  • 1 1/2 cups [195 g] all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 Tbsp [40 g] extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 cup [150 g] dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup [60 g] milk
  • 1/4 cup [60 g] plain, unstrained yogurt*

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F [180°C]. Butter a 9 in [23 cm] round cake pan. Cover the bottom with a parchment round.
  2. Prep the fruit: Combine the olive oil, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Stir together until completely combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan. Use an offset spatula to spread everything out evenly until the bottom is covered. Arrange the plums in a single layer over the buttery brown sugar. Set aside.
  3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and olive oil together until very well incorporated. Then add the brown sugar, milk, and yogurt, and beat to combine well.
  5. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture and stir together just until everything is combined. It won’t be completely smooth, and there might be some tiny lumps; this is completely fine. Don’t overmix!
  6. Carefully pour the batter over the plums, smooth out the top a little bit with a spatula, and bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  7. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the cake pan. Then trace around the edge with a butter knife to make sure it’s loosened from the pan. Invert onto a serving plate, let cool for at least 30 minutes more, and serve.

Notes

* In A Dish for All Seasons, I use buttermilk, which you can use here in place of the yogurt and milk (just use 1/2 cup [120 g] buttermilk in place of both).

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