In Greek: ντολμαδάκια, pronounce dol-mah-THAHK-yah
A classic Greek recipe, the filling include rice, sweet onion, dill, mint, and parsley.
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 50-60 fresh or packaged grape leaves, blanched
- 1/2 cup of olive oil
- 4 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup of long grain rice
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1-2 teaspoons of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/3 cup of olive oil
- 3-4 cups of water
Preparation:
If the grape leaves have already been blanched, simply rinse and set in a colander to drain. If they are fresh, wash well and soak in hot salted water for 5 minutes, then drain.
Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat, and sauté the onion until soft. Add rice, half the lemon juice, herbs, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of water, increase heat and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes and turn off heat.
Allow the filling to sit for 5-10 minutes.
Place one teaspoon of filling at the stem end of a grape leaf and roll. Continue until filling has been used. (If any of the leaves are very small, use two for each roll.)
Line the bottom of a pot with unused or broken grape leaves and place the rolls, seam side down, in the pot in layers. Add 1/3 cup of olive oil and the 3-4 cups of water (enough to reach the top of the rolls). Place a plate on top of the rolls to hold them securely while cooking and bring to a full boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until only the sauce remains.
Add the remaining lemon juice and shake the pot gently.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Serve stuffed grape leaves with wedges of lemon, tzatziki, or yogurt dressing.