I recently saw stuffed Greek-style grape leaves selling at a trendy deli for $1.25. Each. As those who have tasted these “dolmades” already know, they can quickly be addicting and you could eat yourself broke at that price. Originating from the Arabic word “dolma,” meaning “stuffed,” the word evolved into “dolmades” in Greece and is a traditional dish of grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat, lentils and seasonings served as an appetizer or entrée.
With that pre-made price tag as my incentive to find a cheaper alternative, as well as find a vegetarian option to the meat filling, this recipe evolved. A very forgiving ingredient list, feel free to experiment to season and flavor to taste. While this makes a big batch, you’ll be surprised how quickly they disappear. The dolmades will typically stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week; add a drizzle of olive oil or water if they start to dry out.
Vegetarian Dolmades Recipe
Ingredients:
6 T. olive oil
4 medium onions, finely chopped (about 6 cups)
4 c. long-grain rice, cooked
1 c. pine nuts
1 c. currants
½ t. cinnamon
4 bay leaves
8 T. chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 60 oz. jar grape leaves, rinsed & patted dry
4 T. lemon juice
Directions:
* Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in rice and pine nuts and sauté 3 minutes more. Add currants, cinnamon, bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes more. Stir in mint. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
* Cut tough stems from grape leaves. Line large pot with 3-4 leaves.
* Place one grape leaf smooth side down on work surface and set a heaping teaspoon of filling near base of stem end of leaf. Fold end and sides over filling and roll toward leaf point. Set seam-side down in pot. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling, packing close together and layering on top of one another.
* Mix 4 T. lemon juice with 4 c. water. Pour over rolled grape leaves. Cover with 3-4 leaves and invert heatproof plate on top to hold in place. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer one hour. Remove from heat and let stand 2 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Lisa Kivirist
Lisa Kivirist embodies the growing “ecopreneuring” movement: innovative entrepreneurs who successfully blend business with making the world a better place. Lisa is co-author, with her husband, John Ivanko, of Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life, capturing the American dream of farm living for contemporary times. Her latest release, ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits is a compact, dynamic tool kit for a fresh approach to entrepreneurial thinking, blending passion for protecting and preserving the planet with small business pragmatics. As a W.K. Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellow and Director of the Rural Women's Project, Lisa champions a voice for women farmers and rural ecopreneurs through media, speaking and advocacy work. Lisa runs the award-winning Inn Serendipity Bed and Breakfast in southwest Wisconsin, completely powered by renewable energy and considered amongst the “Top Ten Eco-Destinations in North America.” Her culinary focus on local and seasonal cuisine – with most ingredients traveling less than 100 feet from her organic gardens to B&B plates – earned recognition in publications from Vegetarian Times to Country Woman and inspired her cookbook, Edible Earth: Savoring the Good Life with Vegetarian Recipes from Inn Serendipity. In addition to feature writing for publications such as Hobby Farm Home, Mother Earth News and Wisconsin Trails, Lisa is the lead writer for Renewing the Countryside, a non-profit organization showcasing rural entrepreneurial and agricultural success stories. Lisa also penned Kiss Off Corporate America: A Young Professional’s Guide to Independence. Lisa shares her farm with her husband, their young son, a 10kw wind turbine and a colony of honeybees.
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[...] are several things I think about but never do every spring, like making homemade grape leaves for dolmades. Granted, spring ushers in a crazy busy season on our farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, and [...]