Name: Stuffed Grape Leaves
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 200 g jarred vine leaves in brine, about 40 leaves; 150 ml olive oil; 2 onions, finely chopped; 200 g short grain rice; 30 g pine nuts; 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped; 3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped; 3 tbsp parsley, chopped; 2 lemons, juiced; 1 tsp salt; 350 ml hot water; 200 g Greek yogurt, to serve

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Vine leaves rolled around a lemony rice, herb and pine nut filling and simmered for 50 minutes in olive oil and stock until tender.

1 hr 50 min total Serves 8 servings Hard

Spring is when fresh vine leaves are at their best, tender and bright green, though jarred leaves in brine are what most cooks use year round. Either way, stuffed grape leaves, known in Greece as dolmades, are a patient, hands-on dish that rewards you with a plate of small, tidy parcels.

Rinse brined leaves well and soak them in hot water for 5 minutes to remove the salt. Trim off the stems, and lay each leaf shiny side down. The filling is rice cooked partway with onion, dill, mint, parsley, lemon juice and pine nuts, so that it can finish swelling inside the leaf. Use a small teaspoon, no more, because the rice expands as it cooks.

Roll them tight, but not too tight. Fold the stem end over the filling, tuck in both sides, and roll firmly towards the tip. Pack them seam side down in a pot lined with spare leaves, in snug rings, so that they cannot unroll as they cook. Weigh them down with an upturned plate.

Simmer gently in lemon juice, olive oil and water for 50 minutes. The leaves should be silky and the rice tender. Cool them in the pot, which lets the flavour settle, and serve at room temperature with lemon wedges and thick yogurt.

The Method for Stuffed Grape Leaves

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Soak the vine leaves in hot water for 5 minutes, drain, and trim the stems. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil and cook the onions for 8 minutes.
Add the rice and pine nuts and stir for 2 minutes. Add 100 ml of the hot water and cook for 8 minutes, until it is absorbed. Stir in the dill, mint, parsley, half of the lemon juice and the salt. Cool.
Place a leaf shiny side down and put a teaspoon of filling near the stem end. Fold in the sides and roll up tightly. Repeat.
Line a pot with spare leaves. Pack the rolls seam side down in tight rings. Pour over the rest of the oil, lemon juice and water, and weigh down with a plate.
Cover and simmer gently for 50 minutes. Cool in the pot and serve with the yogurt.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Tips That Matter

Use only a teaspoon of filling per leaf.
Pack the rolls tightly so they cannot unroll.
Cool them in the pot for the best flavour.

Pairs Well With

Greek yogurt · Lemon wedges · Feta · Pitta bread

Storage

Keeps for 5 days in the fridge in a covered container.