Preserved Grape Leaves ~ Lacto-Fermented

Soon it will be harvest time here and one of the things I like to preserve are grape leaves; harvested before they turn color in autumn and fall from the vine.

The leaves picked in spring are more tender, but since my grape vines are young I prefer the leaves stay with the vine during the growing season. As the vines become more prolific I'll switch to harvesting the leaves in the spring.

My favorite way of serving the preserved leaves is to use them as an edible wrapper for stuffing, for such things as Dolmas/Dolmades:


Photo credit: igourmet.com (Click image to learn more.)

Dolmas are stuffed grape leaves; a traditional component of a Greek mezé ~ or appetizer assortment, I serve them as a side dish or snack as well.

They can be stuffed with a number of things; rice or bulgur (cracked wheat), onion, pine nuts, currants, seasonings such as dill or mint, a touch of cinnamon, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Yum!

For the leaves, you can cook and can the freshly plucked leaves so they are shelf stable, or do it the way I prefer. Simply soak them in a '3-ingredient' lacto-fermentation brine, pack them in a jar and allow them to ferment for a day or three on the kitchen counter then refrigerate until ready to use as you wish.

I like to pick the leaves (organically grown only) in the cool of the early morning, submerge in cool water to freshen, then wash in fresh cool water and drain.

The ingredients for the lacto-fermentation brine are:

about 2 cups filtered water

1/4 cup whey
1 tablespoon sea salt

And, of course, you'll need some fresh, tender grape leaves (organically grown)

This time I picked 32 leaves--but the amount is up to you, just increase the amount of brine if you use more leaves.

Note: If you don't happen to have whey on hand, add an additional tablespoon of salt.

Mix up the brine ingredients, making sure salt is dissolved. Place the leaves in a non-metallic vessel (good quality enamel lined, or glass), and pour the brine over the leaves.

Allow to marinate at room temperature for about an hour ~

Then stack the leaves neatly one upon another and roll the lot from the stem end to the tip (see note below) and place them in an impeccably clean quart size canning jar.

Pour the marinating brine over, adding additional filtered water in order to cover leaves if necessary. Allow about a 1-inch headspace between leaves/brine and jar lid.

Instead of one BIG roll of leaves, I prefer to make stacks of 8 to 12 leaves and roll each so I have smaller rolls, then pack them into jar(s) and pour the brine over.

Then allow to sit at room temperature (out of sunlight) for 24 to 74 hours, at which point fermentation will have begun to develop, then refrigerate for longer storage.

Over time the leaves will darken and become more pliable which is exactly what you're aiming for. When I make the dolmas/dolmades I will post about them, so please stay tuned!

In the meantime, if you'd like a recipe for Dolmas you can click the tab below to visit

Foodista:

Greek Dolma

Thanks so much for stopping by today, friends.

Homemade Ketchup (Lacto-Fermented)

"Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have."
-Stephen Wright

Every six months or so we try to get back on track with more healthful eating habits after sliding off-track a bit. This means getting back to R EAL food, and less of the uber-refined, and packaged stuff. Made mostly from scratch using good, whole foods, wholesome ingredients, organically grown, and in season whenever possible.
In that vein, recently I have been reading about lacto-fermented foods (click), and I'm convinced this method which nurtures beneficial bacteria are something I want to incorporate into our diet, to encourage good intestinal flora and digestion.

These are no drastic changes, but ones we can live with. I'll be posting about some of these foods and I hope you enjoy coming along with me, and hopefully you'll find some things you can incorporate into your own menus for healthier eating.

This recipe for tomato ketchup is but one ex ample of how to tuck some lacto-fermentation goodness into your diet.
The recipe calls for whey* ~ I used whey collected from yogurt while draining the yogurt to make yogurt "cream cheese", but you can skip this step and use water instead.






Draining the whey from natural, plain yogurt while making Yogurt "Cream Cheese". (I'll be sharing some ways of how to use the yummy Yogurt Cream Cheese in a future post.)

Although we don't eat a lot of ketchup I do use it as a condiment, in sauces/dressings/dips, and it's fabulous in my homemade BBQ/Grilling sauce, too.






The recipe is from a wonderful blog, GNOWFGLINS, created and hosted by Wardeh Harmon. Wardeh and her husband and children live here in Oregon and embraces the organic, whole, made from-scratch way of life. Recently she blogged this recipe, from her friend Erin who lives in Anchorage, Alaska and was featured on "Real Food Wednesdays" hosted by

Kelly the Kitchen Kop. I hope you'll stop by and say hello to these two very creative bloggers.

This is a quick and easy version of ketchup as it starts with canned tomato paste ~ I use organic, unsalted.

I tweaked the recipe, just a little bit to suit our tastes ~ it's absolutely delicious and the great thing is that you can play with it to adjust the ingredients to your own taste.

Here's the recipe ~ and if you would like a PRINTABLE copy, please scroll down for the link to my recipe blog.

Homemade Tomato Ketchup (Lacto-Fermented)
Yield: About 1 1/2 cups

12 ounces organic tomato paste (no salt added)
1/4 cup water
1/8 cup whey* (or an additional 1/8 cup water)
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar; I prefer natural raw, organic for this recipe (i.e. Bragg's)
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard (dry mustard)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
big pinch garlic powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
1/4-1/3 cup sweetener of your choice (agave syrup, honey, maple syrup, molasses, barley malt, or a combination of any of those.)

Note: This recipe is a basic guideline, so start with 1 Tablespoon vinegar, and add more to your taste. (I use the full 2 Tablespoons.) You may prefer to add more sweetener if you like a sweeter ketchup, and be sure to taste after you mix it, adjusting seasonings to your liking... the ketchup mellows as it ages.

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl (glass or enamel), and whisk together until completed blended. Pour or ladle sauce into clean, dry containers (I prefer glass). Cover and leave at room temperature for two days (to encourage fermentation.) After two days store in refrigerator.

* Whey is the residual liquid left during the cheesemaking process~ I use the whey (liquid) that separates from natural, unflavored yogurt. I collect it when I make healthy and delicious yogurt cheese (great substitute for sour cream or cream cheese). For directions click here.

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, please check Once Upon a Plate Recipes ~ click HERE.

Kitchen Tip:

Although there was no leftover tomato paste from this recipe, often I find a recipe which calls for only 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. The stuff in the tube is fairly expensive compared to the cans, so I buy the cans and package the unused portions in 1 tablespoon-sized scoops.

I twist each tablespoon of tomato paste in plastic wrap or waxed paper squares, (not aluminum foil---the acid in tomatoes eats through the metal). Then freeze until firm and place them into an airtight container, such as a plastic zip bag and freeze. It's so easy to just reach into the freezer, remove one or two, unwrap and add to a pot of simmering soup or sauce.

Frozen, and ready to store in airtight container (zip bag) in the freezer.

Thanks for stopping by today, friends!