Persian Dolmeh (Stuffed Grape Leaves)

Want to impress your guests at your next dinner party? I have you covered.

This recipe was inspired by the flavors and textures I was exposed to while working at a Persian restaurant during college. I do not kid when I say these little guys are probably in my top 10 favorite foods! Seriously, no exaggeration there.

They may seem daunting but they are pretty easy to make. Time consuming but easy nonetheless. You can sub any of the stuffing ingredients with your personal favorites. Rice is the only constant, but other than that, the sky is the limit! Remember, white rice falls under the safe starch category.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef or lamb
1 ½ cups cooked basmati rice
1 Jar of grape leaves
¾ cup dried cherries (any dried fruit works here)
¾ cup chicken stock
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (~2 lemons)
½ raw onion (chopped)
1 cup of tomato paste
½ caramelized onion
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped)
2 tablespoons fresh mint (chopped)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil under medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and toss around with the onions.
• Once fragrant, add the ground beef or lamb and dried fruit. Season with turmeric, black pepper and sea salt. Don’t overcook the meat since it will also go in the oven. Cook about half way through.
• While the meat is cooking, open the jar of grape leaves and rinse them. Since they are usually tightly packed, make sure to try to separate them before you start working with them. Put any completely deformed ones on the side.
• Transfer the cooked meat mixture onto a large bowl. Add cooked rice, fresh dill and mint. Toss around to mix evenly. This will be the dolmeh stuffing.
• Grab a medium sized glass baking dish and cover the bottom with a layer of deformed grape leaves. This will prevent your dolmehs from burning.
• Now it’s time to assemble the little guys. Grab a grape leaf smooth side facing down. Add a scoop of stuffing mixture onto the center of the leaf and pull the stem over the meat. Then fold the left side in and then the right side. Pull meat in tightly and roll. Place dolmeh in the baking dish. Repeat until you run out of stuffing and grape leaves. Depending on the size of your glass baking dish, you might end up with two or three layers of dolmehs. Make sure to pack them in tightly.
• Once all the dolmehs are in the glass baking dish. Pour over the chicken stock and lemon juice. Put in the oven for one hour. They are considered ready once all the juices have evaporated.
• In the meantime, add tomato paste and caramelized onions in a blender. Mix until pureed.
• Serve dolmehs with a drizzle of the tomato sauce. And sprinkle some chopped herbs for garnish.
• Nom Nom!