Dolmathes (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

[Heather]

Does anyone have a good recipe for these? Or know of a place that makes good ones?

[Scott Johnston]

I pick up some in Magrutders that seem ok, I kinda think this is a cash cow, many places ordered them in a large tin and then charge a lot for a little packages of them.

I think they come in oil or brine. I have seen the grape leaves (in a jar in a liquid) in some stores as well.

Does anyone have a good recipe for these? Or know of a place that makes good ones?

[zoramargolis]

Does anyone have a good recipe for these? Or know of a place that makes good ones?

Did you want to do meat-stuffed or rice-stuffed? I haven't done them with meat, but rice is easy. Use a short-grain, risotto-type or other starchy rice. Mix cooked rice with lemon zest and juice, olive oil sauteed finely chopped shallot or onion, salt and white pepper for the "traditional style", or to those add capers, pine nuts, chopped golden raisins for even more delicious ones. Trim the stem out of the base of the leaf, put some filling at the base of the leaf, and wrap and roll up like a mini-burrito. Put them in a shallow casserole, drizzle with olive oil, add a little water or stock, cover with foil and bake in a moderate/slow oven for about half an hour, or until the grape leaves are tender. Cool to room temp and drizzle with more olive oil to serve.

[Pat]

I have a few. Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the basic one I make. It's my husband's cousin's recipe and uses brown rice, onions, carrots, chicken broth, olive oil, and lemon. I'll keep looking for it, as I need to find it for me.

There's also a cheese version I adapted from something posted by an Italian woman in Australia that was quite good, and a chickpea and lentil version I'd have to dig around for.

[Anna Blume]

Zora (aka RHT), thanks for the instructions! I've always been curious.

[Heather]

Did you want to do meat-stuffed or rice-stuffed? I haven't done them with meat, but rice is easy. Use a short-grain, risotto-type or other starchy rice. Mix cooked rice with lemon zest and juice, olive oil sauteed finely chopped shallot or onion, salt and white pepper for the "traditional style", or to those add capers, pine nuts, chopped golden raisins for even more delicious ones. Trim the stem out of the base of the leaf, put some filling at the base of the leaf, and wrap and roll up like a mini-burrito. Put them in a shallow casserole, drizzle with olive oil, add a little water or stock, cover with foil and bake in a moderate/slow oven for about half an hour, or until the grape leaves are tender. Cool to room temp and drizzle with more olive oil to serve.

Perfect! I will give it a try and report back. I am tired of buying grape leaves filled with unidentifiable mush, or with wrappers too tough to chew.

[Pat]

I found the Armenian stuffed grape leaves (yalanche) recipe. My husband's cousin (thank you, Charlotte) dictated the recipe to me one Thanksgiving. It makes more than enough stuffing for a 16 oz. (undrained) jar of California grape leaves--the large ones. I always have leftover rice, but it's so good, I've never bothered scaling back the recipe. The filling is

2 lg. onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tomatoes, cored and chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/3 cups brown rice

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add rice and tomatoes; cook about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for about 40 minutes until the rice is done.

Fill/roll the leaves the way Zora described. They should be packed pretty close together in a casserole. If you're making multiple layers, add a layer of grape leaves between them.

Cover the casserole* with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1 3/4 cup chicken broth. You can do them in the oven or on the stove. I cook them about 50 minutes or so a 350 oven. With a lot of liquid in there, it's a good idea to stick an upside down plate on top of them so they don't start floating and breaking apart.

*This amount is for a big casserole using a whole 16 oz. jar of leaves.