Recipe - Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

40 Grape leaves (1 pound jar) (up
to 50)
Three fourths cup Uncooked rice
2 Tomatoes; skinned & chopped
(up to 3)
1 lg Onion; finely chopped or
5 tablespoon Scallions; finely chopped
2 One half tablespoon Parsley; finely chopped
2 One half teaspoon Crushed dried mint (I
skipped this)
One fourth teaspoon Ground cinnamon
One fourth teaspoon Ground allspice (I used 1/8
t. fivespice)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Sliced tomatoes (or torn or
leftover grape leaves to
line pan)
3 Cloves garlic (optional but
of course I put it in!) (up
to 4)
One half cup Olive oil
One or more lemons ; Juice
of
1 teaspoon Sugar

Recipe paraphrased from Claudia Roden's "Middle Eastern Cooking"

If using preserved grape leaves, remove from jar, put in a large bowl and
cover with boiling water; let soak 20 minutes, then drain; soak in fresh
water and drain again twice. (NoteI just soaked them a while in cold
water. Perhaps a little salty, but okay)

Soak and stir rice in boiling water, and then rinse; drain thoroughly. In a
bowl mix the rice with the tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, cinnamon,
allspice, and salt and pepper. Stuff leaves (method follows). Pack tightly
into large pan lined with tomato slices or grape leaves, slipping garlic in
between dolmas.

Mix olive oil with One half cup water; add sugar and lemon juice and pour over
stuffed grape leaves. Cover and simmer 2 hours, adding water as it is
absorbed. Let cool in the pan; serve cold.

To stuff the leaves, put one on a plate face down (vein side up) with the
bottom of the leaf toward you. Place a teaspoon of filling in the low
center, above the stem (you'll see; trust me). Fold bottom up and ove the
stuffing; fold sides over the middle, and roll up tightly away from you. It
should look a bit like a handrolled cigar.

Apparently you can use fresh vine leaves; just pour hot water over them
till they're cooked and flexible. Can I use the leaves from the wild grape
vine in my backyard? On whom should I experiment? Posted to FOODWINE Digest
by Michele Spainhour Rumohr mrumohr@HERAKLES.STUAFFRS.WAYNE.EDU on Aug
29, 1997