Last night we were in for a big treat. My best friend Carrie’s nieces were in town and whenever they visit she always cooks up the ancestral family favorites. Their paternal great-grandmother was Lebanese and she taught Carrie’s mother this recipe and she passed it down to her girls and Carrie is doing the same (she showed me years ago). I have also made it with steamed cabbage, but these little stuffed grape leaves are yummy! Try the cabbage though if grape leaves are not your thing because this simple combination of ingredients is delicious together and the lamb riblets are to die over. 

Ingredients: 

• 2 jars toughed grape leaves (this serves 10 so it can easily be cut in half)
• 4 lbs of lamb riblets
• 3 lbs of ground lamb
• 2 cups of minute white rice
• 1 cup of pine nuts
• 5 gloves of garlic
• 2-3 lemons Generous amount of cinnamon (do more than you think, it gets absorb)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 11-½ oz cans of V8 juice
• 2 lg cans of stewed tomatoes

Brown riblets in salt & pepper over medium heat. Remove from pan, blot on paper towel and drain oil out of pan.

Add one can of V8 and two cans of tomatoes that you squeeze through your fingers to break them up and make a layer on the bottom of the pan. Squeeze one lemon, s&P, and 2 sliced garlic cloves the garlic. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top.

Mix ground meat, rice, pine nuts, 3 diced garlic cloves, s&p, sprinkle of cinnamon, juice of two lemons and 2 cans of V8 juice together. Wrap in grape leaves as shown (may substitute steamed cabbage leaves).

Lay rolls on top of riblets in pan (my friend also stuffed a few hollowed out zucchinis) baste with juices and cover for 30 minutes. Baste more during the 30 to keep moist.

Yummy…