Grape Leaves (Dolmades)

Growing up as a Greek- American, stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) were always a staple at any occasion.  Whether a holiday, wedding or just part of our daily meals, grape leaves always found their way in.  Many Greeks will even refer to the grape leaves as gold because growing up in Ohio there is only one time a year that these gems can be picked and that’s the beginning of June.  Finding somewhere that has enough leaves to pick so that you can stock up for the entire year can often times become hard and it is a running joke that a Greek grandmother riding in a car will yell to stop the car because she has spotted some grape leaves on the side of the road. Although you can buy canned grape leaves, they are not nearly as delicious as their fresh counterparts.  Dolmades are not exclusively found in only the Greek culture, however, non-Greeks in the Ohio area will often flock to their nearest Greek Orthodox Church festival to find these tasty treats.

Dolmades are very common throughout Greece, the Middle East and Turkey as well as many other cultures.  When researching the origin of dolmades there are a couple different theories.  Some believed that they were served atop Mount Olympus as any special food would be served on the mountain of the Gods.  Some believed that the origin goes back to when Alexander the Great besieged Thebes and food became so sparse that the Thebans cut what meat they had into small bites and rolled them in grape leaves while another theory is that Byzantines developed this delicious recipe.    Stuffed grape leaves are a part  of many different cultures and each culture prepares them differently.  For instance the Armenians prepare them with ground lamb or beef mixed with rice and spices such as coriander, dill, mint, pepper and cinnamon as well as chestnuts and peas and served with a yogurt sauce.  In Israel, grape leaves are commonly stuffed with meat, rice and lentils and  in Iraq, they are stuffed with ground lamb or beef with rice and pomegranate juice.  Greek grape leaves not only different from these other cultures but can also differ within regions in Greece.  Traditionally Greek grape leaves are stuffed with ground meat (lamb, pork, beef), rice, tomatoes and seasonings such as dill and mint.  Depending on the region, it may be topped with an egg lemon sauce or tomato sauce or simply just with lemon juice.  The cooking method also may differ as some will bake them in the oven and others will boil them on the stove.

Health Benefits of Stuffed Grape Leaves

There are many great nutrient benefits stuffed grape leaves have to offer. Regarding the actual leaf, there is about 13 calories in just 5 leaves!   As far as macronutrients, these 5 grape leaves will provide about 2.4 g carbohydrates (1.5 g being from dietary fiber), about 0.8 g protein and about 0.3 g fat.  We typically think of vegetables as being low in fat and although grape leaves are low in fat with only about 2% of their caloric value being from fat, the great thing is that most of the fat found in grape leaves is from the polyunsaturated fatty acid a- linolenic acid (ALA).  In the body, ALA is able to convert to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DHA) which are the forms the body is able to utilize.  ALA, EPA and DHA may sound familiar to you in that they are forms of Omega-3 fatty acids.  Other sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fatty fish in the forms of EPA and DHA and walnuts, ground flax seeds, and chia seeds in the form of ALA.   It is recommended to consume fatty fish first if possible as the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is not very efficient in the body, however for those who are vegetarians, vegans or do not eat fish for one reason or another they are relying on these vegetable sources for their intake of omega-3 fatty acids.  These 5 grape leaves will provide about 120 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids in the form of ALA with the recommended amount (adequate intake) being about 1.1-1.6 g/day providing us with roughly 11% of our daily needs.  While this may not sound like a lot it becomes a good addition into the diet.  Why do we want to consume omega-3 fatty acids?  Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to do many great things in our body but in short, the most well know benefit of omega-3 fatty acids is reduction of inflammation throughout our body. 

Moving on to the micronutrient benefits of grape leaves.  Grape leaves are packed with 77% of the daily value for Vitamin A, 20% of the daily value for Manganese, 19% DV for Vitamin K and 5% DV for calcium as well as other vitamins and minerals as well. 

Another nutrient advantage to consuming grape leaves is the antioxidant properties.  Just like the actual grape, grape leaves have antioxidant properties that come from the phytochemicals phenols, flavonoids, flavonols and stilbenes. 

All of these amazing nutritional benefits we have discussed thus far have been just for the actual grape leave not to mention the stuffing which when the ingredients are chosen with care can provide protein, carbohydrates and many more vitamins and minerals. 

Picking and preparing grape leaves

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As mentioned earlier, prime grape leave picking time in Ohio and many other areas of the United States is early June.  When the leaves are ready it’s time to not only pick the leaves, but to prepare the leaves!

After picking the leaves, it’s important to soak the leaves in water to remove any dirt.  Next, cut off the stems of the leaves.  In batches (I like to do 25 leaves at a time-that way they are ready for freezing and I don’t have to regroup them) parboil the leaves by immersing them in boiling water for about 1 minute, flip the stack over and parboil for another minute .  You will know that they are ready as they go from a bright green color to a duller green color.  Remove them from the water and place on paper towels to dry.  Once they have dried you can either stuff and roll them or freeze the leaves for later use.

Recipe Variations!

Now that you have the traditional Greek grape leave recipe here comes the fun part- taking this already great dolmades recipe and making it fit every diet type!  Here are some recipe suggestions I have tried that I love!

Ingredient: Ground meat

 If you would like to continue to use ground beef, purchase ground beef that is 93/7 or 96/4 to reduce the amount of saturated fat.  Also, if you can find meat that is hormone and antibiotic free from grass fed cows that would be best.

If you do not like ground beef, you can use any ground meat you like such as turkey.  Finding the leanest cuts of turkey from hormone and antibiotic free turkeys is best.

Ingredient: Rice

Here are some substitution suggestions I have tried that worked great!

1. Brown rice- replace the white rice with an equal amount of brown rice and continue the recipe as described. Replacing the white rice with brown rice takes you from a refined carbohydrate to a whole grain providing more fiber and nutrients.
2. Quinoa-replace the white rice with ½ cup quinoa and continue the recipe as described.  Replacing the rice with quinoa can add not only healthy complex carbohydrates but also added protein.
3. Cauliflower rice- Clean and cut up one head of cauliflower.  In a food processor, grind cauliflower until it is a rice consistency.  Place this in the mixture and continue the grape leaves as the recipe describes.  Using cauliflower in place of rice is perfect if you are trying to use grape leaves in a low carbohydrate diet.  In addition, adding a vegetable to the dish and benefiting from the nutrients it provides.

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