I hate to waste anything, especially food. This unusual soup is a perfect way to use any grape leaves leftover after cooking a dish like Grape Leaves with Vegan Stuffing. Grape Leaves Soup has a delicious sour taste plus it is healthy, warming and easy to prepare.
This soup is gluten-free and dairy-free. If you want to make it vegan leave out the meat stock (or cube).
Where to find grape leaves?
Thinking about where to get grape leaves? Check the international sections in your supermarket or try to find a Turkish market near you. Perhaps you might even have some growing in your backyard, vine trees make a lovely shade and not difficult to grow.
How to cook the grape leaves soup?
Start with washing the grape leaves, cut off and discard the stem and then cut to slices.
Then all you have to do is to sauté the sliced leaves in a pot with some olive oil. First start with the sliced leaves, then in sequence add the onions, garlic cloves, and finally the tomato paste. All one after the other and all added to the same pot. Then add in the water, a lemon’s juice and the spices. This soup doesn’t need salt as the leaves are already salty enough. You can leave out the meat bullion to make it vegan.
Hope you will enjoy this soup. If you have liked this recipe you might want to try my other soup recipes next time:
Grape Leaves Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 grams grape leaves
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 75 grams rice
- ½ lemon’s juice
- ½ teaspoon dry mint flakes
- ½ teaspoon sumac
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 meat stock cube optional
- 1,5+ Litres warm water
Instructions
- Cut off the stems of the grape leaves and discard. Wash well and cut to thin slices.
- Use a large pot, add three tablespoons of olive oil.
- Then add the grape leaf slices. Saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Chop the onion and the garlic. Add first the onions, sauté for 1-2 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic. And sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- When the onions are translucent, add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Saute for 1-2 minutes till the tomato paste become fragnant.
- Add 1,5 litre of warm water. Stir occasionally.
- Also, add 75 grams of rice.
- When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat. Let simmer until the rice is edible with no hard part in the middle.
- Add half a lemon's juice and the remaining spices. Taste and adjust the amount. As grape leaves are salty, there is generally no need to add salt. Taste and adjust.
- Serve warm and enjoy.
Notes
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