Stuffed Vine Leaves (Dolma) with Olive Oil

Stuffed vine leaves is one of the important honor of the religious festival days for us. My mother shows honour to the guests filling 1-2 saucepans with stuffed vine leaves a couple of days before each festival... Several years ago, we had cooked stuffed vine leaves with my elder sister at eve night so that keeping on this custom while my mother and father were staying abroad during a festival. Now, whenever I see this meal, I remember making the stuffed vine leaves with my sister...

ingredients:

4-5 onion

1/3 cup uf olive oil 

1,5-2 spoon of pine nut

2 cup of rice 

1 spoon of dry mint 

2-3 g black pepper 

2 g cinnamon 

2 piece of sugar 

2 spoon of currant

½ lemon 

1 cup of minced parsley 

5 g salt 

1/3 cup of boiled water 

½ kg pickled vine leaves 

2 spoons of olive oil 

2 cups of boiled water

Preparing:

1. Cut into pieces 4-5 onion, roasted with 1/3 cup of olive oil and 1,5-2 spoon of pine nut  (till the pine nuts turn pink).

2. Wash 2 cup of rice and add the onions. Roast 1-2 more minutes. Then add into the saucepan turn in order; 1 spoon of dry mint, 2-3 g black pepper, 2 g cinnamon, 2 piece of sugar, 2 spoon of currant, ½ lemon’s water and 1 cup of minced parsley and mix them. Add in the pot 5 g salt and 1/3 cup of boiled water. Steep on very low fire till the rice absorb the water. When the rice absorb the water turn off the fire and cool them.

3. At the other side, wash ½ kg pickled vine leaves by warm water - changing water 4-5 times. Take out the leaves from water pressing between palms of your hands. Take each leaf in your palm, put on its centre 1 teaspoon of ingredient. Wrap the leaf cylinder style.

4. Spread some leaves bottom of the pot that you use for cooking (so that the pot’s bottom is not burnt). Arrange in a row the stuffed vine leaves top of the leaves. At the end, put one more row leaves at the top and pour 2 spoons of olive oil. (If you would like sour, you can also add ½ lemon water)

5. Cover a plate on the leaves and add 2 cups of boiled water. Put the pot on the fire. When water starts boiling, reduce the fire and cook 30 minutes. After cooking, cool them and row on the service plate. Serve decorating with lemon slides and parsley leaves.

Comments

[ENZO]

HAPPY EATING
LUV & HUGS
MICK

[Irem]

burnumu sokar gibi olmak istemem, umarim alinmazsiniz: cam fistigi "pine peanut" degil de "pine nut" olarak cevrilmeli. "peanut" genel olarak her tur fistik anlamina degil, ozellikle yer fistigi anlamina gelir.

[hatice]

irem cok tesekkurler duzelttirdigin icin!

[Rachel Price]

Are stuffed vine leaves associated with france? if not which country are they associated with?
Please write back.

[aysenur]

Hi Rachel,
If you are asking about the recipe it is a very traditional in Turkey to make stuffed grape leaves but greeks also says that it's their original recipe. Since they are very close countries it seem both may be true...

[grotrian]

Can you please tell me how to keep vine leaves for the winter? I have vines here in Canada which I am going to prune.
Many thanks, Christian Grotrian

[Laura]

Can you pickle the stuffed vine leaves so as they keep for a longer period of time. If so, how could I go about it? Many thanks, Laura

[burcu]

Hi christian,
pick the vine leaves (lots of them)and let them rest on a clean sheet for at least 2 days. Later, fold 5-6 of them together into four and stuff them in a jar (preferably in a small one, a jam jar). You should stuff them in such a way that there'll be no room for air. Then close the lid tight. If you don't stuff them in the jar tight enough, they may go bad. Generally they go bad in a couple of days (the leaves change color), and you stuff another jar.