Dolmas with Lamb
Submitted by HARSKAMP
Grape leaves stuffed with ground lamb, rice, pine nuts, mint, parsley, cinnamon, and allspice, simmered in olive oil and lemon juice. A hearty meat-filled dolma served at room temperature.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
1 hrsThese lamb-stuffed dolmas are the heartier, more substantial cousin of the classic meatless version, and they make a fantastic main course.
Ground lamb gets browned with onions, then mixed with rice, pine nuts, fresh mint and parsley, cinnamon, and allspice before being rolled into rinsed grape leaves and simmered gently in a bath of olive oil, lemon juice, and broth.
An hour later, you have tender, aromatic packets of lamb and rice that taste like the Mediterranean.
Serve at room temperature with a final squeeze of fresh lemon.
Kitchen Tips
- Brown the lamb with the onions first to render out excess fat and build flavor before mixing with the rice
- Roll tightly and place seam-side down; weighting the dolmas with a plate prevents them from opening during cooking
- Rinse jarred grape leaves well to remove the salty brine before filling
- These hold beautifully at room temperature, making them ideal for a dinner party appetizer or mezze spread
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and drain the rice.
Heat 3 Tbl olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the yellow onion and sauté until soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes.
Add ground lamb and fry with onion until done.
Transfer to mixing bowl and add the drained rice, ½ cup of the remaining olive oil, green onions, parsley, mint, pine nuts, cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper.
Set aside.
Rinse the grape leaves under running cold water to remove as much brine as possible; pat dry and stack on a plate.
Place 1 leaf at a time, shiny side down, on a flat work surface.
Cut off and discard the tough stem end. Spoon about 1 Tbl of the rice mixture in the center near the base of the leaf.
Fold the stem end over to cover the filling; fold both sides inward, lengthwise, and then tightly roll leaf toward pointed tip end to form a compact packet.
Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
Pour about 2 Tbl of the remaining olive oil in the bottom of a large pot and strew with a layer of parsley stems to prevent grape leaves from sticking.
Arrange the stuffed leaves, seam side down and almost touching on top of the parsley, making as many layers as necessary.
Drizzle the remaining 6 Tbl olive oil the lemon juice and ½ cup broth over the leaves.
Top with a heat-resistant plate and weight with a heavy can to keep leaves from unwinding during cooking.
Cover the pot bring to a gentle boil reduce the heat to low and cook until rice is tender about 1 hour.
During cooking add a little heated liquid as needed to keep dolmas moist.
Remove from the heat and cool in the pot.
Sprinkle with lemon juice to taste garnish with lemon zest and serve at room temperature.
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