Dolmades - grape leaves stuffed with rice and pine nuts

Stuffed grape leaves are a typical Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. Depending on which cultural cuisine, they are called by slightly different names: "dolma" in Turkey, "dolmade" in Greece, and "dolme" in Iran. The grape leaves are filled with anything from rice, different types of nuts, and meat, usually lamb.

Though I call my stuffed grape leaves "dolma," and they include rice and pine nuts, they are nowhere near traditional because I leave out typical herbs like mint (I don't love mint), and cook the rice before wrapping in the grape leaves.

Sarah J. Gim's Non-traditional Dolmades

Remove grape leaves from jar, rinse, and let soak in cold water while you prepapre filling. You can also lightly poach them to make them softer, but I didn't bother.

Sauté 1 finely chopped onion and 4-5 cloves finely minced garlic in 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a saucepot over medium heat until translucent and tender.

Add 1 c. rice, 1 c. chicken broth, and 1 15 oz. can plum tomatoes with juice, finely crushed. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes until rice is almost cooked. Remove from heat.

Stir in ½ c. toasted pine nuts, ½ c. finely chopped fresh parsley, juice from half a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. I like things salty, so I used almost a tablespoon. Watch out, though. If you're using canned chicken broth, that stuff is already pretty salty.

Drain the grape leaves and as you use them, shake any excess water off. Cut off the stem, and if the main vein is large, you can slice some of it out. Take a few of the torn or too-small grape leaves and line the bottom of a large pot (to prevent the dolmade on the bottom from burning).

Place a grape leaf with the veins facing up, stem side toward you. Spoon about 1 generous tablespoon of the filling on stem end (cloest to you). Star rolling it away from you, folding in the sides, and shaping it as you go, into a small log.

Place the shaped dolmade with the open/seam side down in the pot. As you roll more dolmades, pack them tightly next to each other so they don't unroll. You can stack them on top of each other, but try using the largest pot you have so the layers aren't too deep.

Pour 2 c. chicken broth, and additional water to just cover the dolmades. Place a heavy plate directly on top of the dolmades to keep them from floating or moving around. Bring the pot to a boil slowly over medium heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Make yogurt sauce by whisking together 1 c. plain yogurt, juice from half a lemon (you already used the other half above), and 1-2 cloves of garlic super finely minced. If you like it really lemony, add the zest from the half lemon. 

Once the dolmades are cooked, pour off any excess liquid from the pot and allow dolmades to cool. They are served at room temperature.