Stuffed Grape Leaves (dolma) |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 100 Minutes |
Ready In: 100 Minutes Servings: 100 |
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Another treasure I recently found in our local farmers market is this cool ingredient – grape leaves. This very unique ingredient is mainly used to make dolma- grape leaves stuffed with flavorful rice. Usually you can find it in Turkish/Middle Eastern/Greek restaurant or you can find a preserved can in most of the grocery stores. Read more . When I bought the leaves I suspected that preparing dolmas at home would require some time to prepare. Well, it does. BUT it was so worth the effort (and I had extra hands to help me!). The result is very different than what you get outside – this version is very flavorful and almost melts in your mouth when you eat it .You can eat is cold as a snack directly from the refrigerator or warm/room temperature as a side dish. This is how it works Ingredients:
100 grape leaves, preserved in salt water |
2 cups basmati white rice |
2 tomatoes |
1 onion, finely chopped |
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil |
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt |
1 teaspoon of black pepper |
1 teaspoon of sumak |
1/2 cup of dill, chopped |
1 cup of roasted pine nuts |
juice of 2 lemons |
Directions:
1. Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sauté the onion until tender. Add the rice and stir for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and 1 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. In the meantime, peel the tomatoes and chop to very small pieces (check this link, very helpful with how to do it). Add the tomatoes and dill, give it a short mix and cover again for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep covered for 5 minutes. Mix gently with fork and allow the rice to get to room temperature and just then add the roasted pine nuts. See Photo
2. Drain the grape leaves from the salt water, and start preparing the dolmas per the below picture, lay them aside until you’re done.
3. As for the leaves, if they have a significant stem - cut it with a knife. Most likely, you will find few leaves that are somewhat torn, don’t throw them! Use them to pad the bottom of the pot (about 3 layers).
4. Once you are done with rolling the dolmas, stack them in the pot lengthwise and crosswise (In the pot I used it came up to be 3 layers).
5. In a bowl mix 2 cups of water,Olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of salt, black pepper, sumak and the lemon juice. Pour gently to the pot. You want to put a plate on the top of the dolmas so they wont move and break apart.
6. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low heat for about an hour. Done!
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