Many dolmathes recipes are identical to this, however I’ve modified it to suit the preferences of my family.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 45 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 7 |
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ pounds onions, chopped
- 1 ¾ cups uncooked white rice
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 (8 ounce) jar grape leaves, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions in oil until tender. Stir in rice and cook until lightly browned. Pour in 3 1/2 cups water and 1/2 of the lemon juice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in dill, parsley, and pine nuts; remove from heat.
- Remove stems from grape leaves and place 1 tablespoon rice mixture in the center of each. Fold in the sides and roll tightly. Place seam-side down in a baking dish and cover with remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and enough water to cover 1/2 of the dolmathes.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Reviews
I made these and will definetely add more lemon juice more dill more parsley use less oil and cook the rice less I should’ve read the reviews..they are correct
Fairly easy to make. Except for prepping the grape leaves. It is careful work to unpack them and not “rip” them. Came out yummy and it makes lot of them!
These were easier than I’d thought they’d be to make, but they weren’t as delicious as I’d hoped, even with adding more lemon like the other reviewers have suggested.
This was my first experience working with grape leaves and so it was a bit of an adventure. It took a while for me to roll all the rice mixture up making the whole process last longer than I had planned on. I enjoyed the flavor and did as previous reviews suggested and added extra lemon but, I don’t think all that olive oil was necessary. There was a lot in the bottom of the pan when we took them out and it kinda made the outside of the grape leaves slippery. My boyfriend wasn’t a fan but, I think Ill try it one more time (with some adjustments) when we have guests over to get more reviews.
I make this recipe with several variations. Instead of grape leaves, I use cabbage leaves. (sweeter than grape leaves) I make meatballs (ground beef/onion/instant rice/parsley) and wrap them in the cabbage leaves. Place the stuffed cabbage in a big pot and pour chicken broth over everything and cook for about 45 minutes on “simmer” (stove top instead of oven). I also pour an egg/lemon sauce over stuffed cabbage after everything is cooked. Delicioso!!
An ethnic treat! Very tasty!
This was delicious! I used brown rice instead and bottled lemon juice. It was a lot of work and made alot of servings but was worth it because I snacked on them all week. I had some serious trouble rolling the grape leaves but by the last few I rolled they were shaped a little better just need some practice I guess. Great recipe I’ve always loved these rare treats at greek restuarants and now I can make them myself. Thanks!
Using Lizzy9volt’s changes I made this recipe and all I have to say is MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! I love these!!!!!
I pretty much followed the instructions, but had to half everything. I also used some brown rice since I didn’t have enough white rice. I used two lemons and included the juiced lemons in the pan while baking. I prefer dolmathes cold, so I let them sit a few hours and they were so good! I will definitely be making them again this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!
Following the recipe as-is would probably yield about 3 stars, it’s not lemony enough. But I made the following additions and had rave reviews from my dinner guests: While rice was simmering, I added about 2 tablespoons of dried dill but also added the fresh dill as directed later. The recipe calls for the juice of 1 lemon while the rice is simmering? Forget that! I added like 3/4 cup! It wasnt fresh either, I used the bottled stuff to save time. After rice was done simmering, I followed directions but I also added about 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped mint. After stuffing leaves and placing in the pan, again I put approx 3/4 cup of lemon juice and about 1/4 cup of olive oil on the tops of them all. I baked them as directed, and then right after they came out of the oven, I squeezed a fresh lemon on the top and let it cool. I prefer these cold, so I served them as such. ENJOY!
SO DELICIOUS ,IF YOU WANNA TRY SOMETHING ZAZZY AND DIFFERENT I DO RECOMMEND THIS ONE.
The rice was bit mushy (next time I’ll try the rice cooker and steam them as is recommended in other recipes). Also, you can use just a little bit of oil and this recipe will be fine. I added chickpeas to the rice for some contrast.
Fabulous recipe! I grew up eating Middle-Eastern food including stuffed grape leaves. I have been looking for an easy recipe to duplicate the grape leaves I grew up with (and now love — at a steep price — at places like Whole Foods). This was exactly what I was looking for. I love the use of dill instead of traditional mint (as in Lebanese recipes) and I added a little extra. The only problem I could see with the recipe is that there is no salt listed. That could be the problem the one reviewer had with it being bland. I added about 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to the rice while it boiled. I also added currants to the recipe instead of pine nuts (husband is allergic), though it would probably be even better with them, to duplicate the flavor of grape leaves I had at a Turkish restaurant a few months back. It turned out wonderfully. The little bit of oil on the grape leaves is what I would have added anyway as it is traditional to drizzle olive oil over the grape leaves and serve it with lemon wedges. It was a little labor intensive and I definitely need more practice at rolling the leaves, but it was worth the work. Thanks for the great recipe!
I was leary of the combination of spices but as it was coming together, it smelled SO good. This is a great recipe and I had no problems with it. Yummy. Will definitely make again.
Not quite what I was hoping for. Followed the directions exactly and they seemed to come out a bit too oily for my taste. I’ll keep looking!
These were good. I found myself adding extra lemon juice because they weren’t tart enough for my taste. I didn’t have pine nuts, so I left them out. Next time I will definitely add the pine nuts, and some parmesan cheese.
I leave out the nuts…great recipe!
Very good. Used all ingredients excepts the pine nuts. My one year old (who loves vegetables) loved these. Although she couldn’t chew the grape leaves very well, they served as an effective vehicle for the yummy rice filling. Even better with veggie burger crumbled in rice mixture.