Dolmas

Introduction

Ingredients

• • 1 pack of grape leaves

  • 1 yellow medium onion

  • 3 scallions

  • olive oil

  • ¾ lb lean ground beef

  • 1/2 cup Arborio rice

  • 1 cup of white wine

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint

  • 1 handful of pine nuts

  • salt

  • pepper

  • 2 lemon

  • 1 1/2 cup water

Process

Soak the leaves for at least half an hour in plenty of warm water to leach out excess brininess.  If the water becomes dirty or discolored, you may need to change the water once during the 45 minutes.  Using a paring knife, remove the stem from each vine leaf and reserve.

Finely chop and saute onion and scallions in a healthy glug of olive oil, over medium heat. When the onions are getting soft and turning translucent, add the ground meat.  Add the rice and let that absorb all the liquid in the pan. Saute the rice for a few minutes, and then add a cup of white wine. Cover the rice with chicken broth. Add a nice sprinkle of salt and pepper. Let the rice bubble away, adding a bit more liquid if necessary. When the rice is cooked and just al-dente, remove from the heat and allow to cool to proper tasting-temperature. Now, add a mint, dill, pine nuts, and the juice of a lemon.

Now it is time to roll them...

Before you pop the dish in the oven (350 F or 180 C works fine), add a cup and a half of water with the juice of one lemon to the grape leaves. Cover. They will continue to absorb this water as they cook. They’ll plump up nicely. In about an hour and then they are ready.

Hints

Don't use to much in each dolma, keeping them small and tight, like many things, is the best.