Vida Recetas Editorial
Rice dolmades are a classic of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine, made with grape leaves stuffed with a fragrant mixture of rice, fresh herbs, pine nuts, and raisins. This recipe, of Greek and Turkish origin, stands out for its balance between the slightly acidic flavor of the grape leaf and the sweet-savory filling, enhanced with cumin and black pepper. It is an ideal option as a starter, appetizer, or light main course, perfect for vegetarians and for those seeking a healthy and flavorful meal. The preparation, although it requires some patience to wrap each leaf, is simple (easy difficulty) and the result is spectacular: tender and juicy rolls served with a touch of lemon. There are variations with meat, but this rice version is the most traditional and light. The trick is to cook the leaves until tender and to sauté the rice with the spices so it absorbs all the aromas. If you can't find fresh grape leaves, you can use jarred ones, but adjust the cooking time. Go ahead and prepare these delights and surprise your guests with a bite full of history and tradition.
Prep
1 min
Cook
30 min
Servings
7
We wash the leaves very well - you always have to have 2 or 3 more in case one of them breaks - cut the branches, place a saucepan on the fire and cook them, they will be there for about 30 minutes. Once cooked, we drain them, dry them and set them aside.
While the leaves are cooking, we will prepare the filling: soak the raisins, toast the pine nuts in a pan without any fat, finely chop parsley and mint.
Peel and cut the onion, as small as possible, put another saucepan or medium pan on the fire, with a little oil to sauté with salt and pepper. When the onion has browned, add the rice, spices, raisins, pine nuts, parsley and spearmint, let it sauté a little, add 2 glasses of broth, cover and let it cook over medium heat, always watching if it needs more broth. It will be cooking for about 20 minutes. When it's done, we try salt and let it lose heat.
Fill the leaves by placing some of the rice in the center, closing from one side to the center and the other to the center to end up folding the edges down.
They are placed in a saucepan, making sure that they are tight to each other. They are watered with lemon juice, a good splash of olive oil and covered with broth. It will be cooking for about 30 minutes on low heat with a lid on low heat.
After that time we already have them. They are eaten cold and usually accompanied by yogurt sauce.
This recipe has a easy difficulty level, which means it's accessible for cooks of all levels.
The preparation time is 1 minutes and the cooking time is 30 minutes.
This recipe is designed for 7 servings.
Yes, many ingredients can be substituted with similar alternatives. We recommend checking the recipe variations.
Store the preparation in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Some preparations can be frozen for up to 3 months.
