Dolmas - I Will Create Food!

In our quest to not only broaden our kids minds, but also their palates, we have been searching out foods we love that we can make at home.  One of our favorite Mediterranean finger foods  is Stuffed Grape Leaves (Dolma) Nearly every Mediterranean restaurant has them, with each one of them seasoning and filling them with a variety of flavors.(You can even find them canned!)  They are fairly easy to make with a little prep.

You Will Need:
1 Jar of grape leaves - we found our at Fred Meyer... Whole Foods, Safeway and QFC also carry them.
1 cup of dry rice
1/4 cup Fresh Mint
1/2 cup Fresh Parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Olive Oil
Carrots

Soak the rice for about an hour.  

While the rice is soaking chop your veggies and herbs.  After an hour drain the rice and mix everything except the grape leaves and carrots together.

Separate the grape leaves, setting aside the torn or partial ones, and run them under cold water to rinse the brine off of them. Chop the carrots until you have enough to make a layer in the bottom of the pot you'll be cooking the dolmas in. They act as a barrier so you won't scorch your dolmas.

Use a flat surface to roll your dolmas and lay your first grape leaf flat.

Spoon 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of the rice mixture in the center making a little row about 1/4 inches from the edges.

Fold the edges in and roll the leaf like a little burrito and place it in the cooking pot on top of the carrots. 

Keep rolling and layering until you run out of leaves.  Stuff the ripped and small leaves in the center space to fill it out.

 

Now fill the pot with water until it just covers the dolmas.(We like to add a little extra lemon juice and olive oil to the water)  Put a heat resistant plate inside the pot to stop the dolmas from floating while they cook.(we use a ceramic plate with a bowl full of water to weigh it down) 

Bring the water to a boil and then reduce to medium heat for 45 minute sadding water as needed.  Remove from heat and let cool for another 45 minutes to an hour .  You can discard the carrots if you like, but they taste awesome too!

They are great by themselves or you can dip them in tzatziki sauce or hummus.  They hold up pretty well in a sealed tupperware container, but they probably won't last that long.