EatSmart Meals

Middle Eastern Dolma

This is a traditional Middle Eastern dish often made with grape leaves.  I came across someone who showed a video of her using other veggies, and I just had to try it.  I’ve made traditional Polish cabbage leaves many times, but this dish is a bit different.  I love the spice mixture and the variety of the other vegetables.  The stuffed onions were my favorite.  

This dish uses a lot of ingredients and takes a while to prep, assemble, and cook, but it is SO worth it.  It is great to have for dinner and leftovers, to feed a crowd for a dinner party, or to bring to a potluck.  It also freezes very well. 

Recipe below the video

FOR THE STUFFING MIXTURE:

3 lbs lean ground beef

1-3/4 cups washed basmati rice

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

8 tablespoons tomato paste , 1 small can

1/3 cup pomegranate molasses.  (I fyou cant find this, use a mixture of balsamic glaze, honey, and lemon. 

1 large onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 organic red or orange bell peppers, chopped fine

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons za’atar spice or sumac

FOR THE VEGETABLES:

2 -3 organic green zucchini

3-4 onions,narrow in shape (avoid really round onions)

4 red peppers, small

1 large head cabbage (green or napa)

Other Options:

2 bunches of swiss chard

20 grape leaves

1/4 cup oil , for bottom of the pot before layering

4 small red peppers

FOR THE COOKING LIQUID:

5 cups water

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons black pepper

1/4 cup – balsamic glaze mixed with lemon juice in honey to make 1/4 cup

FOR THE STUFFING MIXTURE:

• Start by finely dicing the onions and red peppers and mincing the garlic
• Wash the rice well until the water runs clear and drain 
• Mix together the all the ingredients for the stuffing: meat, rice, vegetables, garlic, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, the insides of the cored tomatoes and zucchini, oil, cumin, za’atar spice or sumac, salt, pepper. Use your hands and mix until very well combined. Set aside.

PREPPING THE VEGETABLES:

• For the zucchini: start by scraping away the some of the skin using a peeler, then trim the ends. Cut the zucchini into 3 pieces, then core using the tip of the peeler or a small spoon.  You can leave one end in tact if you want to minimize the meat spilling out.
• For the onion: first peel the onion, Make a long cut lengthwise all the way to the center – do not cut past the center. Drop them in boiling water untii soft.  Let them cool and then separate the layers.  
• For the cabbage or swiss chard: before stuffing, wash the leaves well and then submerge in a bowl of boiling water for 3 seconds. Remove them and place them on a tray. This helps wilt the leaves and makes them more pliable for stuffing. Use a knife to pare down the thick stems so that they are easier to roll.  
• For the grape leaves: grape leaves come in jars submerged in water. If the leaves are packed in salted water, soak them in water for at least an hour to get rid of excess salt, then wash them a few times and drain. You can squeeze them gently to get rid of excess water. 

STUFFING THE VEGETABLES AND ASSEMBLING THE POT:

• Start by adding 1/4 olive oil to the bottom of the pot, then line the bottom with extra cabbage leaves
• Then stuff the onions and zucchini first. then top with cabbage, chard, grape leaves. Fill the vegetables 3/4 of the way because the rice will expand during cooking. 
• Finally stuff the swiss chard, cabbage, and grape leaves fill in all the cervices and tightly pack everything in.
• To roll the leaves, place a small amount in the middle of the leaf. Fold the sides into the middle, then roll the leaf forward using your hands to keep everything tight.  Place in the pot seam side down.

COOKING THE DOLMA:

• Prepare the cooking liquid by mixing all the ingredients together well until the tomato paste has dissolved 
• Pour the liquid into the pot ensuring it goes all the way up to half way through the top layer. Don’t completely submerge the top layer.
• If there is a lot of space at the top of your pot, place a flat plate on top of the pot to keep everything in place
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil on high heat for 15 minutes. Then, taste and adjust the seasoning of the liquid (add more salt or acid if you need to)
  
• After 15 minutes, decrease the heat to medium and allow it to cook for another 15 minutes
• Finally, decrease the heat to low and cook for 1 hour. Taste it after the hour and make sure all the vegetables are really soft
• Allow the dolma to stand for 10-15 minutes before eating.

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