Pantry Fun

Lettuce Leaves Stuffed with Sea Bass – Levrek Sarma

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I wasn’t feeling well last week like so many of my friends and probably many of you.  I decided that the only way to beat it was to stay home and rest.

So there I was at home, …. finally I got a bit bored and thought to myself: I know what, this is a good opportunity to try those fish sarma or in this case, levrek or sea bass rolled up in lettuce leaves, a very different kind of dolma, that I’d seen in a new cookbook. Usually, you see, it’s either vine leaves or cabbage leaves that are used. Using lettuce leaves is a breakaway! The photo was enticing and the ingredients most engaging, plus we were expecting some very dear friends for dinner the next night who I knew would love this ….

lettuce leaves stuffed with sea bass – levrek sarma

TT went out and bought the most amazing sea bass. We are so lucky as we have a new fishmonger at the end of the road so he’s trying very hard. Look at these fillets: aren’t they beautiful?

he bought far more than we needed for this recipe so
I froze the remainder

Now, the recipe I had turned out not to be very good: the idea was fantastic but per se, it most certainly wasn’t for the novice cook. But with all my years in Turkey of stuffing this and that, I managed to adapt it and was exceedingly pleased with the results not to mention the look, and most of all, the taste! I will tell you exactly what I did, don’t worry:

Ingredients for Lettuce Leaves Stuffed with Sea Bass – Levrek Sarması
Adapted from a recipe in Cıbalıkapı by Behzat Şahin
Serves 6
a  large half-filled saucepan of boiling water
Large lettuce leaves – the recipe specifies 12 romaine/marul leaves but I ended up using 30 of a larger curly-leafed lettuce!!!
2 x 400g fillets sea bass/levrek, finely chopped
1 long sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1 cup  finely chopped fresh dill/dereotu
1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley/maydonoz
3 finely chopped spring onions/taze soğan
grated peel of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup lightly boiled rice
1/4 tsp allspice/yenibahar
a pinch cumin/kimyon
a pinch curry powder/köri
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup olive oil 
Method
  • Add the lettuce leaves a few at a time to the boiling water, cook about 30 secs, remove and cool. DO NOT USE ROMAINE AS THE CENTRAL STALK IS TOO TOUGH. USE A LETTUCE WITH SOFT LARGE LEAVES THAT WILL ROLL EASILY.
this is what I started with: can you see the stalk? I couldn’t
possibly use the leaf to roll anything: not worth it

so I dumped that romaine/marul and luckily had this curly-leafed lettuce just
sitting in the fridge and it  happened to be organic to boot.  It was perfect!
  • Place finely chopped fish in a container big enough to hold all ingredients. Add spring onions, parsley, dill, red pepper, garlic and lemon peel.
mix all those wonderful fresh  ingredients well ….
  • In a separate bowl, combine the orange juice, spices and seasoning with the lightly boiled rice and half the olive oil. Mix well. YOU WILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL MIXTURE.
combining the rice mixture with the fish
  • Take 1 lettuce leaf. Place veined side upwards with the stalk end away from you. If the stalk is tough, cut it out as it will make rolling difficult. Take a spoonful of the mixture and, folding from the sides first, roll up to the smaller end so that the filling is secured.

about to roll …. actually, I see the leaf here is the wrong way round!
No matter ….fold the sides in …be firm ..
they roll beautifully as you can see ….
  •  Give the roll a light squeeze at the end so that it retains its shape nicely. IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SİGARA BÖREK, THE TECHNIQUE IS IDENTICAL. Layer a few not-so-good leaves on the bottom of your pan  JUST LIKE YOU WOULD FOR ANY OTHER VEGETABLE DOLMA so they won’t stick. 
  • Layer your filled leaves ideally in one layer in a circular pattern in your pan. Add the boiling water and remaining olive oil, cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 mins.
they look swaddled, don’t they?
  • When cooked, uncover and let cool. Serve at room temperature garnished with lemon slices. 
beautiful delicious stuffed lettuce leaf fish sarma!
Delicious!! They are absolutely worth the effort! Not perhaps a family dish but certainly
one for your favourite guests! Serve as part of a meze spread or indeed as a separate course
all on its own.
Afiyet olsun!

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Comments

  9. Senior Dogs Abroad says

    Claudia, Hope you're feeling better. It's amazing how interesting the various fish are here in Turkey – more so than in Boston, our home town. Your blog has really made us sit up and pay attention to when each fish makes its appearance in the market. Today, my husband told me that levrek was appearing in the market and gave me my marching orders to make this delicious looking recipe.

    Reply

    • Lulu Witt says

      Hello Chioma, the orange juice offers the dish a sweet tang. It is quite unique and goes very well in this dish but other than that, there is no other purpose. I hope you will try the dish and I look forward to hearing if you enjoyed it.

      Reply

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