.: evil jungle prince :.

I seem to recall that the first time I tried stuffed grape leaves was at a Middle Eastern deli in San Francisco's financial district. The place lacked any sense of warmth and the staff were rude, but I continued to go there year after year because of their stuffed grape leaves. I could never get enough of them. My friend and I would sit for hours in this cold place, seemingly oblivious to the fact that besides the food there was nothing endearing about it. It didn't matter. As long as they kept serving my dolmadakia, they could count on my patronage.

If you haven't tried them, dolmadakia are grape leaves stuffed with rice and fresh herbs. (Other names: dolma in Turkish and Bosnian; dolmades in Greek; Dolme (دلمه) in Persian; tolma (տոլմա) in Armenian and ტოლმა in Georgian; sarma, plural sarmale in Romanian; yaprakes finos in Ladino). There are all sorts of variations and like the use of eggplant, chickpeas, and olive oil, they find a presence in many Mediterranean cuisines. (And for the sake of peace, we won't discuss here whether the Greeks, Turks, or Armenians invented them!) Generally I do not make them from scratch and prefer to purchase them at delis and restaurants, but once in a while I will purchase a bottle of grape leaves and go to town. If you're interested in making them yourself, here's the recipe I use.

1. Begin by mixing 2 cups of dry (preferably washed) rice with the juice of two small lemons (or one large), some Greek olive oil, 1 bunch of green onions finely chopped, 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, a little salt and pepper, and 2 bunches of dill. (Retain the stems from the parsley and dill.) Set the rice-herb mixture aside for 2-3 hours so that the herbs will permeate the rice.

2. Remove the grape leaves from their glass jar and place in boiling water briefly. Rinse. (This is to get the brine off the leaves.) Pat the bundle dry. Begin stuffing the grape leaves one by one with one spoonful of the herbed rice mixture. Place mixture in lower center. Fold up from bottom to cover rice, left to center, right to center, and then complete the bundle by rolling up to the very top. Fold leaves inward as necessary so nothing is sticking out.

3. Spread parsley and dill stalks at the base of a pot, plus any broken grape leaves you might have obtained during the wrapping process. (This step is necessary to permeate the mixture with aromatic herbs and to prevent the dolmadakia from sticking to the base of the pot.) Tightly pack dolmadakia over these, into a pot, in cocentric circles.

4. Place 5-6 plates on top of the dolmadakia to prevent them from coming unwrapped during the cooking process. After placing the plates on top, pour 4 cups of water, a little more olive oil, and sprinkle a little salt and pepper into the pot. Simmer at low heat with the lid on until all the water has been absorbed by the dolmadakia. (It might seem counterintuitive to keep the lid on, but the water should be absorbed by the rice, not the atmosphere. Otherwise, you'll end up with dry dolmadakia.)

Dolmadakia can be served hot or cold, either by themselves or as part of a larger meal. They are delicious dipped into yogurt and can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten over a period of time. (Be sure to pour some Greek olive oil over them and they will keep for a very long time.)

Sentimentally, the cookbook I use for this recipe sums up my feelings about this dish much better than I: "While steaming, the wafting scents of the herbs and spices come over you like the breath of the Orient."