This Dolmas recipe breaks with tradition by using leftover rice, which increases the resistant starch content of the rice while cutting down the cooking time.
Featured Ingredients
Ground beef delivers at least 10% or more of the daily value of 15 different nutrients per 3.5 ounce serving, and is a top food source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and zinc.
Cooking rice as normal, and then cooling it to room temperature or refrigerator temperature, can cause starch retrogradation and more than double rice’s resistant starch content, which has significant prebiotic activity and can greatly benefit gut health.
Herbs and spices do so much more than flavor our food! As concentrated sources of beneficial phytonutrients, they provide diverse health benefits such as reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some forms of cancer.
Dolmas (Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 3 cups white rice basmati, cooked (1 cup raw)
- 1 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 cup mint fresh, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 65 grape leaves (60 to 70 fresh leaves) or about one 16 oz jar
- 6 cups broth
- 3 lemons juiced
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent and slightly browned, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add minced garlic, and saute one more minute, until fragrant. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine beef, rice, parsley, mint, allspice, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add the sautéed onion and garlic, and mix to combine.
- Pinch the stems off each leaf, setting aside any leaves that have rips or tears, or any that seem tougher than the others. If using jarred grape leaves, pull them from the jar and drain thoroughly. They are often bundled with string or rolled in bunches, so remove the string if needed and unroll the leaves so they lay flat.
- To fill the leaves, work one leaf at a time. Place two or so tablespoons of filling (depending on the size of the leaf) on the widest part of the leaf. Fold in the sides, the roll the leaf up from the base to the tip. Lay the filled dolma (tip of the leaf on the bottom so that it doesn’t unroll) along the bottom of a stockpot or large Dutch oven. Repeat this process, adding each dolma right next to the last, fairly tightly packed. Depending on the size of your pot, you’ll end up making three to five layers of dolmas. If you don’t have enough for a full final layer, add the dolma in the center first and work outward.
- Combine chicken broth and lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
- Poor broth over dolma, to just barely cover. If you don’t have quite enough broth, top up with water.
- Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low. Simmer for 1 hour, checking occasionally to make certain it’s still slightly simmering and not burning, and that there is still a bit of liquid bubbling around the plate weight. You can add a ¼ cup water if needed (usually not) or adjust heat.
- Once the dolma are cooked, remove from heat and remove the pot lid. Carefully remove the plate with tongs. Serve with a little bit of the broth, and enjoy!
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