Dolmas Greek Stuffed Grape Leaves
Submitted by spanke5
Traditional Greek dolmas stuffed with rice, pine nuts, fresh herbs, cinnamon, and allspice, simmered in olive oil and lemon juice. This recipe makes about 50 stuffed grape leaves served at room temperature.
YIELD
50 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minDolmas are one of the great Mediterranean appetizers, and making them from scratch is a meditative, deeply rewarding kitchen project.
Each grape leaf gets filled with a fragrant mixture of rice, sautéed onions, pine nuts, fresh parsley and mint, cinnamon, and allspice, then rolled into tight little packets and simmered gently in olive oil, lemon juice, and broth.
Served at room temperature with a final squeeze of lemon, they’re herbaceous, slightly nutty, and brightened by warm spices.
This batch makes about 50, which sounds like a lot until you see how fast they disappear.
Chef Tips
- Rinse the jarred grape leaves thoroughly under cold water to wash away the briny, salty flavor
- Roll the dolmas tightly so they hold together during cooking; loose rolls tend to unravel
- Place a heavy plate on top of the dolmas in the pot to keep them weighted down and prevent unwinding
- These taste even better made a day ahead and served the next day at room temperature
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and drain rice.
Heat 3 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the yellow onion and sauté until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the drained rice, ½ cup of the remaining olive oil, green onions, parsley, pine nuts, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper.
Set aside.
Rinse the grape leaves under running cold water to removes as much brine as possible, pat dry, and stack on a plate.
Place 1 leaf at a time, shiny side down, on a flat work surface.
Cut off and discard the tough stem end.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture in the center near the base of the leaf.
Fold the stem end over to cover the filling, fold both side inward lengthwise and then tightly roll leaf toward pointed tip end to form a compact packet.
Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
Pour about 2 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil in the bottom of a large pot and strew with a layer of parsley stems to prevent grape leaves from sticking.
Arrange the stuffed leaves, seam side down and almost touching, on top of the parsley, making as many layers as necessary.
Drizzle the remaining 5 tablespoon olive oil, the lemon juice, and ½ cup stock, broth, or water over the leaves.
Top with a heat-resistant plate and weight with a heavy can to keep leaves from unwinding during cooking.
Cover the pot, bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook until rice is tender, about 1 hour.
During cooking, add a little heated liquid as needed to keep dolmas moist.
Remove from the heat and cool in the pot.
Sprinkle with lemon juice to taste, garnish with lemon zest, and serve at room temperature.
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