IT'S A WRAP! "Instant" dolmas for mezza...

So, it's been a while since i've made stuffed grape leaves. I didn't include the recipe in the book I've been working on (not yet released, but has been spied on from my desktop -- ANYWAY...) because I hadn't made a really really good batch in some time. Getting the rice done just right can be a challenge and no one likes crunchy rice in their dolmas. Nor do they like mochi. wrapped in a grape leaf. Like Goldilocks said, it's gotta be "just right". Easier said than done. The reason I hadn't made a really good batch in a while is because the big heavy plate I used to have that fit perfectly into my stock pot to weigh the dolmas down in the final cooking stage was broken. The pressure is very important to the process otherwise the grape leaves loosen and the rice all falls out and you are left with a mushy rice cassarole, not the tidy little mini cigar shaped bundles everyone loves. A number of weeks ago I picked up a jar of brined grape leaves at the market on a whim. I thought perhaps I would make dolmas instead of pierogi for Easter. I have done that from time to time in the past. But I ended up making pierogi so I could photograph them for the book I was working on at the time. A few days ago I was considering the considerable supply of lemons from our tree that needed to be used and wasn't really in the mood for a lemon pie, and I don't particularly like lemonaide, and didn't have a need for two gallons of hummus. Then I remembered the grapeleaves in my cabinet and thought, "HEY! Why not try using the Instant Pot to make some dolmas?" And guess what? It worked like a dream. Now I'll never need to feel bad about that dish that was broken ever again.

So, this afternoon for lunch I surprised Omar with a lovely mezza including home made Greek-style stuffed grape leaves, salad and herbs from the garden, hummus, tzadziki, olives, pepperocini, bread, and for Omar, a couple sardines.

Now you just try and tell me that doesn't look delicious? It was. This is how I made it:

-- DOLMAS --

INGREDIENTS:

some arborio rice -- I didn't measure it. I guess I used about a cup of uncooked rice.

2 large shallots minced

3 T chopped garlic

about a 1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup of pine nuts

1/3 cup Sultana raisins

3 fresh lemons

2 bay leaves

some ground corriander

some celery seed

a bunch of fresh parsley and oregano from the garden chopped fine

salt and pepper to taste

some water

1 jar brined grape leaves

DIRECTIONS:

First, I put on a sauce pan of salted water with a bay leaf, black pepper, 1 tsp of garlic to boil.

Next, I prepped all the ingredients -- remove grape leaves from jar and rinse in a large bowl of cool running water until the leaves are easily pulled away from each other, leaving them in the water until you are ready to stuff them. Chop the oregano and parsley together and set aside. Zest all three lemons and set aside the zest. Slice one of th elemons and set it aside. Juice the remaining two lemons and set it aside. Mince the shallots and set them aside. Add half the zest to the simmering stock. 

Now, in a wide sauce pan I put the olive oil, another bay leaf, shallots, pine nuts, some black pepper, celery seed, ground corriander, and rice and stirred over medium high heat until the shallots became translucent and the rice started to become glossy. 

Then, I stirred in a number of ladles of the lemon garlic stock until the rice was about half way cooked. Once it is to that point I removed it from the heat and continued to reduce the stock until I had about two cups of stock left. Then I turned that off too. 

Then I was ready to start stuffing. The leaves can be tricky. Some of them may be thin or more delicate than the others. You don't want tough leaves, but thin leaves can break easily when wrapping them up. Sometimes you can make the dolma with one leaf, other times you may need to overlap a couple leaves. There is no secret to wrapping the leaves. You will figure it out. But basically you want a tight little bundle that resembles a cigar. 

I lined the bottom of my Instant Pot pot tightly with the bundles. Then, once I had used up all the leaves that could be stuffed I layered the top with leaves that were too broken to wrap and the lemon slices. Then I poured the lemon juice and about a cup more stock over the dolmas and secured the lid. I cooked them on the "Rice" setting and when they were done about 20 minutes later they were PERFECT. And I didn't even need a heavy plate or a rock.

While the dolmas were cooking I made a fresh batch of hummus and tzadziki and picked some fresh lettuce, arugula and nasturtium greens from the garden...oh and a couple nasturtium flowers as well. I really like nasturtium as a food spource in the garden. The sweet and spicy flowers and leaves are both beautiful and delcious, and so easy to grow. I'm not going to share my tzadziki or hummus recipe right now. Those are easy enough to look up, but I will say, when you are making the tzadziki, it is important to draw out the juices from the grated cucumber and onion before you mix with the yogurt and other ingredients, if you want the tzadziki to keep over night. It's easy, just grate the cucumber and onion together in a bowl then slat liberally, stir together and let sit for a couple minutes. Then squeeze the juice from the grated veggies and seperate. This is what the juice looks like: This is what the solids look like mixed with the yogurt and other ingredients: And here's my mezza, without the sardines that Omar enjoyed on his mezza: The only thing that would have made this better would have been if I had fresh flat bread made this morning...but poor us, we had to settle for regular old sliced home made bread toasted with some olive oil.

So, the really nice ting about this meal is it can be prepared to serve people with a variety of dietary needs. Remove the sardines and you have a lacto-ovo vegetarian meal. Remove the sardines and tzadziki and double the hummus and you have a vegan meal. Remove the bread and you have a gluten free meal. Put the tzadziki on a seperate dish and you have a kosher meal. Add a lamb or kufta kebab and you have a omnivorous meal. But, no matter how you plate it, this meal is fresh and delicious. Now all I need is a shot of ouzo. Opa! That Instant Pot sure has come in handy in my kitchen. I think it's a good way to spend $80.