I've been a fan of Chef George Duran, even before I learned he is Armenian. Once that was revealed, I was even more interested in following his career.
In the early days of this website, I wrote a piece about George which you can read by clicking here.
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Chef George Duran |
I was delighted to see his mother's recipe for Grape Leaf Sarma on his Face Book page recently and immediately contacted him (or his staff) to see if he'd allow me to share it on The Armenian Kitchen.
A few days later, the recipe was emailed to me!
Thanks to George and his mother, I present to you ...
George Duran’s Mom’s Sarma Recipe
Filling Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
3/4 cups medium grain rice
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. red pepper paste
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
5-6 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp. Kosher salt
******
Jarred grape leaves, soaked for an hour and squeezed
Liquid Ingredients:
1.5 Cups water
1 Chicken bouillon cube
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
In a large bowl mix all of the filling ingredients
together.
Place liquid ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to
simmer. Set aside until ready to use.
Using one grape leaf at a time, place it on your work
surface, shiny side down. Trim and discard each grape leaf stem.
Add 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture to the middle of the
grape leaf. Fold the sides over the rice and roll the leaf into a small log shape,
about the size of your thumb.
Repeat with the remaining rice.
Line the bottom of a medium stock pot with torn grape
leaves, then arrange the stuffed leaves in the pot.
When the dish is full, cover the stuffed leaves with
several layers of flat grape leaves and pour in reserved stock liquid.
Place a small dish upside-down on top of grape leaves and
cover and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Let rest for 15-20 minutes.
before serving.
PS: Check out George's recipe for lahmajoun (lahmajoon), too!