Dolmades (Stuffed Vine Leaves) - Mediterranean Recipe

Dolmades (Stuffed Vine Leaves)

🌍 Mediterranean, Greece Difficulty: ●●●○○

Stuffed leaf rolls appear across Ottoman, Azerbaijani, and Greek cuisines — origins disputed but likely pre-Byzantine.

Ingredients

• 30 preserved vine leaves rinsed
• 200g short-grain rice
• 1 onion minced
• ½ cup fresh dill
• ½ cup fresh parsley
• ¼ cup pine nuts
• ¼ cup currants
• ⅓ cup olive oil
• juice of 2 lemons
• salt
• pepper

Method

1. Sautéing — Sauté onion in oil until soft. Combine with raw rice, herbs, pine nuts, currants, salt, pepper.
2. Placing — Place 1 heaped tsp filling on each leaf, fold sides inward, roll tight.
3. Lining — Line pot with extra leaves. Pack dolmades seam-down in tight layers.
4. Mixing — Mix lemon juice, olive oil, 300ml water; pour over dolmades.
5. Step 5 — Weight down with a plate. Simmer 45 min on low heat.

Tags: preserved vine leaves rinsed, short-grain rice, onion minced, fresh dill, fresh parsley · Source: Brittani's Almanac