Homemade vegetarian Dolmades

Hi All,

I recently discovered i have an allergy to both wheat and soy, so I was tinkering with one of my recipes to make it so I could eat it These are great finger foods for a pot luck! This recipe makes 100-110 dolmades. (Or dolmathes if you want the Greek spelling )

Ingredients:
2 large jar of grape leaves.
3 cups uncooked rice (I prefer Wild/Brown rice)
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cans Amy's Organic Tuscan Bean and Rice Soup
2-3 bunches of green onions (I use 3)
1 large white or yellow onion (I use white)
1 bunch parsley (Fresh Italian, but you could use curly if you like the flavor better)
1 TBSP dried dill weed or the equivalent amount of fresh (no I do not know what that is)
2 Containers of sliced mushrooms, chopped (I prefer fresh, but you could try canned if you wanted.)
1 can tomato sauce (2 Cups)
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (I buy 6 lemons, squeeze five, including the pulp, and slice the last one for the baking, it's usually more than 1/2 cup.)
1 can of Chicken, Beef or Vegetable broth (I have used both Chicken and Veggie, just depends if you want full Vegan or not.)

Optional ingredients:
Fresh mint leaves, chopped - to taste
Fresh Garlic - Minced - to taste

Fine chop the onion and braise in olive oil until clear (I have yet to make the onions go all the way clear. I just cook them until they start to go brown. Medium heat, occasional stirring. You would also toss the garlic in with the onions if you decide to add it.)

Add green onion, parsley and dill; mix well.

Add rice, tomato sauce, canned soup and soup mix, and ~1/2 cup of water. Stir well and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, (Using brown/wild rice I usually go about 30 minutes for simmering) stir to avoid burning.

Add lemon juice and remove from heat, cover and let sit until liquid is absorbed. (The rice will NOT be done at this point, so if it is a little crunchy don't fret! Also, with this adjusted recipe it was actually a little soupy, but cooked up just fine, so don't worry if it's sloppy. This is also why I prefer the wild rice, it seems to absorb pretty well. Finished product will be juicy, but not too squishy. I have let the mixture absorb overnight before, this is always an option!)

While it is absorbing, prepare your grape leaves. They need to be rinsed and each leaf will have a little bit of stem that needs to be cut off to facilitate the rolling process. I use kitchen shears and rinse each leaf individually.

To roll: I place the leaves bottom side up, so the smooth outside will be the part you see when they are done. I put the stem end towards me and spoon about a tablespoon of the rice mix onto the leaf, close to the stem end. Roll it like a burrito; fold the top (nearest you) over, fold in and overlap each side, and roll towards the point of the leaf. You should end up with a dolmade about the length of your finger, but a little fatter. If you overstuff you will tear the leaf. If you get a leaf that is already torn, be creative about overlapping torn parts before you roll. If you're gentle with it it will roll okay. It takes a little practice, so don't be frustrated if the first ones are weird, just play with it until you get the tension and filling amounts right.

Place them in a cake pan (I like using glass, but I don't know that it makes a difference.) No more than three layers thick. (I have never made more than two layers) Pour the broth over them, put the sliced lemons on top, drizzle a little more olive oil over them, cover with foil and bake for 1:15 at 375.

Notes:
Grape leaves can be obtained at your local Greek market or possibly at your local supermarket in the ethnic foods. I have been informed by an older Greek lady who would know, that Orlando Brand leaves are best, and that is usually what I have used. I have never found Orlando leaves at the grocery store only the Greek market. The jars vary as to quantity of leaves. I have had 72 leaves in one jar to 54 leaves in another, so you may end up with rice mixture or leaves left over. The Orlando jars are 1lb jars, so big. The ones you may be able to find at your supermarket will probably be half that and have about 25 leaves in them.

I have added garlic to this recipe and thought it added to the flavor positively, but that's up to your tastes.

To add meat you can just use ground beef, brown it and add it to the rice mixture with everything else. The dolmades do not keep as well with meat added, nor, in my opinion, do they taste as good cold from the left-overs section of your fridge . I have eaten the dolmades up to 9 days after they were made and they were still delicious. They also freeze VERY well and can be eaten in batches.

If you have any questions in your experimentation with these let me know. I'm happy to help out!

NUTRITION INFO FOR THIS RECIPE: (And yes, I added this all up myself, so if you substitute things have fun figuring it all out )
Serving size 3 Dolmades
Calories 147
Sodium 471mg
Carbs - 20g
Protein - 3g
Fat - 7g (mostly from the olive oil, so good fats!)

Cheers all!
Papillon05