I have passed this recipe around quite a bit. I thought I’d add it to my little site so that I could find it more easily when asked for it again. Of course looking through it has made me want to make a b-line for the grocery store. There might be cooking in my future tonight! Yum.
This recipe does take a while to prepare but I like everything about it! And once it’s done and I take that first bite it is all worth it. I think by now I have made them five times and each turns out a little different depending on ingredients but each time it is so delicious!
Dolmas
These small bundles of meat and rice wrapped in grape leaves are a favorite dish in Greece. The name comes from the Turkish word “dolma” meaning “stuffed.” They are time- and labor-intensive to make, so the recipe is for a pretty large quantity. They can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, or frozen.
Most of the ingredients you can get at the grocery store. The traditional dolmas are made from ground lamb. I use really lean ground beef if I don’t have time to find lamb. Ground turkey would be another acceptable meat, just as long as it is lean.
The hard thing to find are grape leaves. I used to have to buy mine from a Mediterranean grocery store that’s connected to a Mediterranean restaurant. My local grocer recently added more options and I spotted a jar of grape leaves. Score!
I’m going to alter a recipe I found to match the way I do it. This is one of those recipes that you have to make for yourself. There are many different ways to do this. I took a class at a reenactment event from a lady who spent time in Lebanon so she had good tips.
Ingredients:
1 jar of large grape leaves in brine (about 60-75 leaves) or about 180 small leaves.
I didn’t use the whole jar. You can make a LOT out of a whole jar. I think this time I used 3/4 of it. Depends on how many people you are going to share it with. You can also freeze them. Just remember they are hand rolled! Hehe.
8 cups of water
1 pound of lean ground meat: lamb, beef, turkey.
(Recipe calls for 2 pounds of meat. If you’re feeding a lot go with 2 but I used it as an appetizer last night and about 6 people kept sneaking back and grabbing another. When I left the party early there were a few left in the tray- I’m guessing they were gone before the party was over.)
1 cup of uncooked jasmine rice
1 baking potato
1 can diced tomatoes.
Open can and with a steak knife chop up the diced tomatoes pretty well until there are a bunch of tiny mushy bits – you don’t want big chunks of anything for this recipe- it has to be rolled tightly into leaves.
2 medium-large onions, finely chopped
5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of water
2 lemons
1 cup of chicken broth
Spices: Allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic powder (or fresh chopped garlic), mint. I used Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, sage and lemon pepper too
Preparation:
Blanch the Grape Leaves
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot, add juice of 1/2 lemon and the salt.
Carefully unroll the leaves (do not separate them).
Turn off the heat and place leaves in the hot water for 3 minutes.
Remove leaves and place them in a bowl and cover with cold water.
When cooled, drain in a colander. It is not unusual for many of the outer leaves in the jar or can to be damaged, or to tear while using.
When I drained and washed the leaves off I rubbed them pretty thoroughly with my hands to make sure there were not more of the preservatives on them.
Prepare the Filling:
Soak the rice for 10 minutes in hot water and drain. (Alternatively, sauté the rice with the onion.)
Sauté the onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until translucent, not browned.
In a bowl, combine the onions, ground beef, rice, diced tomatoes, remaining olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, and spices. Mix well by hand.
For this part you’ll be mushing meat. (Take your rings off!)
I got my friend to add the spices in while I mixed the meat and rice mixture with my hands. (Otherwise you’ll be washing your hands a lot between mixing and adding spices.)
Now as for how much spice to add- Mediterranean foods have LOTS of yummy spices in them.
The three main spices for this recipe are allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg.
I determined how much was “enough” by smell. Mix, smell, add what you think it needs, mix smell repeat. And you want it to have a strong spicy smell- some of it will cook out. I think I added another round of spices five times to get it right. It’s sweet and spicy. Mmmm.
Filling and Rolling the Leaves
(Here’s About.com’s instructions on rolling grape leaves: step-by step photos)
Gently separate one leaf and place it shiny side down on a cutting board.
Cut off the stem with a knife.
Place a pinch (up to a teaspoon is the suggestion. I will increase or decrease depending on the size of the leaf.) of the filling on the leaf at the point where the stem joined the leaf.
Fold up the bottom of the leaf over the filling, then each side inward in parallel folds, and roll up the leaf.
Roll should be firm, not tight, as the filling will expand during cooking. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
Here’s my description of how to roll up a grape leaf:
Put the filling right above where you cut the stem. Form the meat into a little tube- like a mini carrot. (Did I mention I just got a hamster- she likes carrots.) There will be two pieces of the leaf below it. (Next to where the stem used to be.) Roll them over the stuffing and then rock it back a bit so the tips of the leaves tuck snugly under the filling. Fold the sides of the leaf inward (like tshirt sleeves) and roll the stuffing. Fold the sides of the leaves inward to match the width of the rolled stuffing as you go. I hold the top end of the leaf as I roll it up to keep it tight.
Not all leaves are created equally- some will work perfectly. But even the ugly ones are yummy! There might be a few leaves too torn to use. But the ones with a tiny tear or hole will still work with all the rolled up layers.
Cooking the Stuffed Grape Leaves:
Lay the potato on its side and slice it into circles. About a half an inch thick. They are going to line the bottom of your pot to keep the leaves from sticking. They will soak up all of the flavors and be a tasty treat!
Place the dolmas on top, packing them closely together (not squashed), seam side down, so they don’t unroll during cooking. Layer them until all are in the pot (2-3 layers is best, but no more than 4 layers).
Add 1 cup of water and one cup of chicken broth.
Place several unused leaves over the top. Take a plate and place it upside down on top of the dolmas, sometimes two plates are used- we don’t want them to move!
Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the remaining lemon juice, reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 50-70 minutes.
Check one to see if they are done. If the rice has cooked, they are done. If not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes and check again.
I set my timer for one hour. It worked well. I take one out cut it in half and find some rice to test. 🙂
Serving:
Individual servings of dolmas are 4-5 pieces on small plates as an appetizer, however they can also be used as a side or main dish.
Serve dolma warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges, tzatziki, or unflavored yogurt on the side. (I just eat ‘em as they are. But txatxiki sauce is awesome!)
Storage
These will keep well in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Return to room temperature before serving. Drizzle olive oil on top and cover to store. They can also be frozen. If you do freeze, reheat in the microwave or by steaming and serve warm. Don’t just thaw and eat.
Tips:
I generally have mixture left over after I’m done rolling leaves. You could make stuffed vegetables out of them. The lady I took the class from had a tiny carving spoon like a mini melon spoon that she used to hull out zucchini with. Bake them and they’d be yummy too. This time we made two tiny meatloaves with the left over mix. We added egg and breadcrumbs. The rice didn’t cook completely but it was tasty anyway. (Didn’t have any vegetables on hand to stuff!)
If you don’t have a potato, line the bottom of the pan with unused or torn leaves or another plate.
Leftover filling can be used to make stuffed vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant.
To make as a main course, use larger grape leaves and increase the amount of filling in each leaf to 1 tablespoon.
Erina the Faery 