Dolmathakia Me Rizi

Dolmathakia Me Rizi
grape vine leaves, briefly blanched
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup short-grain rice
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped dill
1 teaspoon chopped mint
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt and pepper

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the rice to coat, then the stock. Cook until rice is barely tender, it should still be fairly firm since it will be cooked further. Add remaining ingredients.

Place a tablespoon or so of filling in the center of the leaves, then roll up tightly.Reserve broken and small leaves for lining the bottom of a frying pan. Place the rolls in the pan in a single layer, then cover with more leaves. Cover with olive oil, then simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes until tender.
Yield depends on the number of leaves you have, but this makes enough filling for around 20-30 leaves.

This is one of the dishes I tried out for the buffet yesterday - stuffed grape leaves from Greece. Someone else also made them but made a different filling using ground flank steak. I had never tried or worked with grape leaves before, so it was a new experience for me. I thought they turned out fairly well, but I am not sure what they were supposed to turn out like. The dish is actually fairly easy to make, just the rolling part is slightly tedious. Just like empanadas, ravioli, dumplings, passionrolls, and anything else you fill and roll - it is difficult to get enough filling for a good filling to outside ratio without the filling falling out, I would definitely make these again, I think they would be a nice appetizer.