Where it comes from
Koupepia are the Cypriot version of dolmades, distinguished by a meat-and-rice filling spiced with cinnamon and tomato (rather than the meatless, herb-and-rice Greek dolmades). A staple of family tables and meze.
On the plate
Lift a koupepi and the vine leaf is glossy and tender around a fragrant, cinnamon-scented core of rice and meat. Bite: the leaf is grassy and faintly sour, the filling savory and warm with cinnamon, the tomato lending sweetness, the rice plumped with juices. A squeeze of lemon brightens each one. Patient home cooking, made by the dozen for any gathering.
How it works
Cinnamon and tomato in the filling are what mark koupepia as Cypriot rather than Greek. Packing tight and weighting keeps the rolls intact as the rice swells; simmering in lemony liquid steams the leaves tender and seasons the rice from outside in.
Variations
Meatless for fasting (rice, herbs, currants). With added pine nuts. Wrapped in cabbage in winter. With an avgolemono finish. Lamb instead of pork. Made tiny for meze.
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓55 min active · 40 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 18 min
Rinse 40 brined vine leaves; trim stems.
- 29 min
Mix 150 g rice with 250 g minced pork, 150 g minced beef, 1 grated onion, 1 grated tomato, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, chopped parsley and mint, salt, and pepper.
- 316 min
Place a little filling on each leaf, fold the sides, and roll tightly.
- 47 min
Line a pot with torn leaves; pack the rolls in snug layers, seam-down.
- 54 min
Tuck tomato slices between; weight with a plate.
- 64 min
Add 500 ml water with 2 tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon to just cover.
- 752 min
Simmer, covered, 50 min until rice is tender and rolls are firm.
- 815 min
Rest 15 min; serve warm with lemon wedges and yogurt.
