From the mythical land of cedar and pine, peace and war, wine and blood, Warak Enab is a recipe from the ancient past and a love letter to eternity.

This is not a simple recipe card but instead a song from Lebanon and the matriarchs that have rolled this dish all over the world. Wardi Touma shared this recipe with us who intern learnt it from her mothers hands, mother in law, aunts and ancestors.

I stress that this indeed is a song, because within this recipe we hear the music of the vines through ancient veins, of leaf, of hands, of the past to the present day where we can all share the gifts of this magnificent cultural artwork - Warak Enab.

“And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in you heart, I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,

And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.

And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;

And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.”

Gibran Kahlil Gibran

We recently spent New Years day at Joey’s family home in Coburg. On the front next to the entrance reads a plaque - Beirut & Goiania. This is a homage to each respective home of Joey’s parents who both immigrated to Melbourne from other sides of the world, Lebanon and Brazil.

In Wardi’s kitchen are gifts from the garden, fresh herbs and fruits, vine leaves & flowers; offerings from a plentiful summer garden. We have come for a new year, we have come to connect, we have come to roll Warak Enab.

* please note that this dish is not measured in cups and grams but rather through memory and heart. Wardi used a mug and we roughly pieced together the weight of the rice and beef. Its not important to be accurate, and this rough guide is all you need. Taste your way through and sing the song of the vine.

Rice mixture

Grape vine leaves/ fresh or sourced from a good Lebanese or Greek grocer

2 mugs medium grain rice

1/2 kg beef mince

3 fresh tomato’s

5 Spring onion

Fresh Mint

Fresh Oregano

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Parsley

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

5-6 lamb chops depending on the size of the pot

Grape leave

If you have a grape vine, pick your leaves fresh and give them a wash. Then cover with boiling water to blanch them, ready to be worked.

If you are using jared leaves then proceed to line them up so the biggest are filled first

Mix the rice, 1/2 kg of beef mince, diced tomatoes, chopped fresh herbs ( amounts I’ve left up to you, we used a generous handful of parsley and a small handful of the rest) a good glug of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together with clean hands.

Base of the pot

Line the pot with lamb chops.

Coat the chops on both sides with salt and oregano

You can brown the chops off to seal the meat but also fine if you just keep it raw.

Spread leaves out.

Vein side facing up towards you ready for its offering of rice, shiny side out to display its glossy leaf to your guests

If the leaves are too small you can put two small ones to overlay each other

Roll big ones first and put on bottom of the pot around the chops

Roll each leaf twice then tuck the sides in and roll firmly but not so much that it tears. If you have a tear in your parcel, don’t worry, just mend it my ripping another leaf to repair the area.

Stack them up, smallest on the top

around the chops until you have no more mixture left.

Cover with water just half way filling the top parcels

Add lemon & olive oil

Bring to the boil and simmer with lid on till cooked

Smells covering the room

When all the water has evaporated and the top parcels are fully cooked through- it’s ready.

Leave for 10-15

To serve you need a plate big enough to cover the rim of the pot so you can flip it over so the bottom becomes the top and chops are on top to serve

This dish is to be accompanied with fresh yoghurt alongside your other favorite dishes

Sahtein!!