Vegetarian Dolmas.......

Spring is finally coming!....We had a wonderful weather two weeks ago, and then snow storms again for four days.....Now the sun is shining again!

This vegetarian dolmas are one of our favourite summer meals....refreshing, delicious and ideal for picnic.....

Dolmas

Grapevine leaves. I buy in a jar.
1 cup of rice
1/2 cup of red lentils
Salt
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1.5 tablespoons of chopped mint
Olive Oil
Lemon juice

Wash the grapevine leaves. Dry them and set aside.

We will cook the rice half-time only. For example, the rice that I buy usually takes 18 minutes to cook. Therefore, for this dish,  I will cook it only for 9 minutes.

In a pot, put the rice with water and salt, and cook it. After 5 minutes, add the red lentils, and cook them for the remaining 4 minutes. As you see in the picture below, they are not fully cooked because they finish heir cooking with the grapevines.

Add the mint and parsley to the mix. Taste it for salt, and add lemon. It has to be a little sour.

Take a grapevine leaf, and place a spoon of filling in the bottom part

Fold to the left

Fold to the right

Roll it from bottom up, leaving the  closure facing below

Place them in a pot with the closure facing below.......Place as many as you want

 Cover it with a dish

Put weight on it

By the sides, add water with lemon juice. Do not add much water. They don't need to float, but to be cooked with the steam. Cook them for 40-45 minutes at low-medium heat. Add water as needed (you will hear the sound).

Let it cool. Put them in the fridge overnight, and eat them the day after....just with lemon and olive oil, or a Tzatziki they are delicious.....ENJOY!!