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Here is a recipe for stuffed grape leaves. They are delicious, and are made w/o meat - if you wanted to add some meat, you could likely brown some ground beef/sirloin and add that to the stuffing ingredients. This recipe calls for a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker (crock pot). Cooking the dolmas in a slow cooker vs. on the stove-top prevents the occurance of the grape leaves becoming scorched.

1 jar (16 ounce) grape leaves, drained
1 Tbls olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
3/4 cup raw basmati rice
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbls minced fresh parsley leaves
1 Tbls fresh lemon juice

Rinse the grape leaves under running water, then pat dry and trim off the stems. Set aside.

Heat 1 Tbls olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, pine nuts, allspice, and 1 cup of stock, season with salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the rice is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Transfer the filling to a bowl, stir in the parsley, and set aside to cool.

Place a grape leaf on a flat work surface, shiny side down, pointing the stem end toward you. Place 1 Tbls of the rice mixture near the stem end and fold in the sides of the leaf over the filling. Roll the leaf away from you, firmly but not too tightly. Repeat until all the leaves and filling are used.

Transfer the stuffed grape leaves to a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, arranging them in layers. Pour the remaining 1 cup stock, and the lemon juice over the stuffed leaves. Have some extra stock on hand in the case that it is necessary to add more liquid, as all the dolmas should be just covered with liquid. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Uncover and allow to cool, then drain the liquid and transfer the stuffed grape leaves to a serving plate. Serve at room temperature.

To toast the pine nuts:

Place the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking or stirring constantly until toasted to a light golden brown. Remove from the hot pan immediately or they will continue to darken.

(Sidebar: If you cannot find grape leaves, you could attempt to use cabbage leaves, and secure them with toothpicks. I have not tried this recipe with cabbage leaves, so I do not know how it would turn out. Bon appetit!)

Learn more about this author, C. Penlington.
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