This video tutorial will show you how to make the perfect stuffed grape leaves Pot Flip, so that it comes out perfectly stacked and gets that wow factor that we’re all looking for.
Growing up, during most of our large gatherings or dinners, a stuffed grape leaves pot flip was always the main event. It was the one dish that everyone young and old awaited with baited breath to watch the performance unfold. Our large dining table would be laid out with all kinds of steaming hot delicious delights and we would all be gathered around the table ready to tuck in, but right before we did, my siblings, cousins and I would rush to the kitchen to watch my mom perform that magical of all culinary tricks; the famous pot flip.
This would normally entail a massive amount of rolled grape leaves, stuffed with rice and spiced minced beef, that had been painstakingly rolled, meticulously arranged and then cooked for hours in a garlicky lemon sauce. We would all cram into the kitchen shoving and squeezing, while leaving space around my mom. We would all watch in awe as she would take the huge, fresh off the stove, boiling pot, place a flat serving dish above it. Then, grabbing both sides of the pot handles and the large platter simultaneously with a firm grip, fearlessly and powerfully flip the pot upside down, setting it down ever so elegantly on the marbled counter with a huge smile on her face.
She would wait, around what seemed an eternity, and ever so slowly raise the pot to reveal a perfercly stacked round of stuffed grape leaves topped with lamb cutlets and a large sprinklings of garlic cloves. As the pot was slowly raised, lots of “ooohs” and “aaahs” would escape from our mouths. There was always something so mystical and revered about this simple, yet studied act of the pot flip.
Not everyone could do it and it was delegated to the most seasoned of all home cooks. To be able to do a pot flip successfully placed you in the top echelon of the best cooks in the family. It had a lot of street cred and gave one the air of a master in the kitchen. This definitely personified my mom and all of of my aunts. Thanks to my mom, I hope today I have achieved this same level of mastery in my kitchen and that i will pass on this amazing tradition to my children as well.
So here are the three tips:
Pan sear 6 or 7 lamb cutlets
Use a 28cm stainless steel pot with flat handles that don’t go over the height of the rim of the pot
Use a 40-45cm flat serving dish with a 5cm raised edge
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