Muscadine Dawali

Serves 6

Muscadine vine growing on the shed in the garden.

Discovering the Culinary Potential of Muscadines

A couple of years ago, a muscadine seedling popped up next to the shed in my garden. Now, its vines creep and climb playfully all over the shed in a charmingly ragtag sort of way. It’s become a cherished part of the garden and, although it has yet to fruit, it’s already providing food with its leaves, which can be used to make the Palestinian stuffed grape leaves called dawali.

I’m always trying new things in the kitchen, but I can honestly say I haven’t been this impressed by a dish in a long time. There’s something so satisfying about how taut the grape leaves become as the rice expands during cooking, and the spices used create a flavor profile that’s not quite like anything else I’ve ever tasted.

Speaking of spices, this recipe uses a spice blend known in the Arabic world as 7 spice, but don’t be intimidated. I already had all seven in my spice cabinet, and even if your spice cabinet is less well-provisioned, all seven are easy to find in American grocery stores.

One of the beautiful things about preparing foods from other cultures is the way it challenges our preconceived notions about food. When I first looked at this recipe I was rather surprised to see a ratio of 2 cups rice to 1 pound ground beef. I thought 2 pounds of ground beef to 1 cup of rice sounded better! But against my worse judgment I stuck to the original recipe and I’m glad I did because these turned out absolutely fantastic!

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  Dawali mixture in an open muscadine leaf.

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  Dawali mixture in an open muscadine leaf, halfway rolled.

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  Dawali mixture in an open muscadine leaf, completelyrolled.

Ingredients:

50 large muscadine leaves (pick 60 just in case you end up needing a few extra)

1 pound of ground beef

2 cups of white rice

5 tomatoes

6 cups of water or broth

1/2 a stick of butter

Salt to taste

Whole fat Greek yogurt and parsley for serving

7 spice:

1 tbsp allspice

1 tbsp coriander

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tbsp black pepper

1/2 tbsp ground cloves

1/2 tbsp cumin

1/2 tbsp ground nutmeg

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  Rolled muscadine dawali, uncooked in a pan.

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  Rolled muscadine dawali, cooking in a pan.

Directions:

1) Slice 3 of your tomatoes into thin slices like what you’d put on a burger, and place the slices on the bottom of your pan. Turn the burner on to medium low.

2) Dice up your remaining 2 tomatoes and mix well in a large bowl with your rice, ground beef, and spices.

3) Take small amounts of your mixture and start stuffing your grape leaves. As you finish rolling each stuffed grape leaf, place it in your pan on top of the tomato slices. As far as technique goes, the best way to roll your grape leaves is fast. You’ve got fifty of them to roll so don’t fuss about it too much.

4) After you’ve got all of your stuffed grape leaves in the pan add your water or broth and your butter. Cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours.

5) Garnish with parsley and serve with yogurt. It isn’t traditional, but I like to use the yogurt as a dipping sauce. Tzatziki sauce or any similar yogurt-based sauce would pair nicely with this as well.

Muscadine dawali ready to eat!

Written by Tyler Hill

Board Member, The Shoals Backyard

Foraging Disclaimer:

Foraging for wild edibles should always be done with care and proper knowledge. Misidentification or improper preparation of wild plants can be dangerous or even deadly. Always consult multiple reliable sources before consuming any wild plant, and never eat anything you are not 100% certain you have correctly identified and prepared. The information in this post is for educational purposes only—use your best judgment and proceed at your own risk.