WINING AND DINING IN BED.

My first cook book, revisited. Starring (get) stuffed vine leaves.

Around a million years ago, I was an advertising copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather, in St Kilda Road, Melbourne. It was a grand time to be a young creative, and I was working hard, learning my stuff, and generally having a ball and going out to lunch a lot. You will have seen the series Mad Men about the 1980s? They had nothing on the Women.

Then a friend asked me to help her write a cook book. Great! Her proposed title was Wining & Dining In Bed. Great! My enormous contribution was to insist on a chapter on dining in the bathtub as well.

We had fun with the recipe names, found a publisher and had a book launch that ended up on the TV news – a clip that was replayed with great hilarity on Sam Pang’s new tonight show this week.

So, long story long, I was looking through the book for some dinner inspiration and to be honest, I couldn’t find too many dishes I’d want to do these days. Absolutely Stuffed Chicken? Seize ’er Salad? Mussel Development? Cod Pieces?

And then I found it, in the Get Stuffed chapter: Stuffed Vine Leaves. Based on Greek dolmades, but with so much in common with Cypriot koukoupia, Lebanese warak enab, Syrian yebra or yabrak, and the rest of the family.

According to my recipe introduction: “The gods of Olympus probably cooked this one up one night when Metis, first wife of Zeus, said “stuff dinner, I’m going to bed.”

Oh, Jill.

So here’s the recipe, revisited and revised to my taste, today. My goodness, it’s lovely. And easy. And – what a relief – just as delicious when eaten at the table.

There are various ways of making the filling - I just mix the uncooked rice, meat, onion and spices together in my hands and that’s it, no pre-cooking. I’ve made them with a cooked rice and meat filling as well, but there’s no need, and the uncooked version sets better and tastes better, cooked gently in water or stock for about 30 minutes.

Note, I’ve made these with preserved vine leaves, which need a quick soak before wrapping and rolling.

You can try to make all the rolls the same size, but I find it easier to relax and follow the leaf. Add more stuffing to the big leaves, and less to the small leaves. If it’s a really small leaf, put two leaves together and use as if it were one. or just save the straggly ones to line the base of the pan.

Tip: Can’t find vine leaves? Use silver beet leaves, blanched in simmering salted water for 2 to 3 minutes until softened.

STUFFED VINE LEAVES

• 250 g preserved vine leaves

• 200 g basmati rice, raw

• 1 onion, finely diced or coarsely grated

• 500 g minced lamb (or pork)

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 tbsp chopped mint

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• Sea salt and pepper

• 2 tbsp olive oil

Rinse the vine leaves and soak in cold water for 1 hour.

Wash the rice in cold water and drain.

Combine the onion, lamb, rice, cinnamon, tomato paste, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper and 1 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl and smoosh with your hands until well-mixed.

Lay out a vine leaf, rib-side up, on a work bench, and trim off any protruding stalk.

Place a dessertspoon of mixture at the stem end closest to you, and fold the base of the leaf over the filling.

Roll up as for a spring roll, tucking in the sides, and arrange on a plate, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Line the base of a large saucepan with any remaining leaves, and arrange the dolmades on the base, tightly packed (add another layer if necessary).

Drizzle with remaining olive oil and pour hot water down the side until it just covers the rolls.

Place a heat-proof plate over the rolls to keep them submerged.

Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave for 20 minutes (check one to see it is fully cooked, if large).

Remove from the pan and drain.

Drizzle with extra olive oil and serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 20 or so.

Potential extras: Lemons. Yoghurt. Feta yoghurt cream (recipe below). Pomegranates. Kalamata olives. Fresh mint. Pickled chillies. The next night, I made a big tomato sugo and reheated the leftover rolls in it, which also turned out to be a good idea.

FETA YOGHURT CREAM

• 100 g thick Greek yoghurt

• 50 g feta, crumbled

• 1 tbsp mint leaves or half tsp dried mint

• Swirl of olive oil

Whiz yoghurt, feta, mint and olive oil in a small blender or food processor until creamy. Refrigerate until needed.

Thanks for dropping by! And thanks to everyone all those years ago who helped to bring this funny little book to life – including O & M’s fabulous office manager Esther – thereby kick-starting a lifetime, and a career, of eating, drinking, cooking and writing, both in and out of bed. (Special thanks to Terry for being the other one in bed.)

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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. Thank you for sharing your culture, traditions, knowledge, spirit, art, music, humour and food traditions, allowing us all to experience a greater sense of belonging in this ancient land.