Turkish Dolma
Dolmas are a family of stuffed dishes in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. This tomato dolma is filled with a fragrant meat filling and simmered over low heat until just cooked. The result is a delectable dish perfect for lunch, light dinner, or first course. Other common dolmas include stuffed grape leaves, stuffed zucchini, and stuffed peppers, just to name a few.
INGREDIENTS
| 10 large | firm tomatoes |
|---|---|
| 1 | Onion |
| 3 tablespoons | unsalted butter |
| 1/4 cup | basmati rice |
| 1 pound | ground beef or lamb |
| 5 tablespoons | toasted pine nuts |
| 1/2 cup | chopped parsley |
| 2 tablespoons | chopped mint leaves |
| 1 teaspoon | ground allspice |
| 1/4 teaspoon | ground cumin |
| 2 tablespoons | black currants |
| 1 teaspoon | fine sea salt |
| 1/4 teaspoon | freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 cup | chicken broth or water |
INSTRUCTION
- Slice almost through the stem end of each tomato, but do not sever as it will serve as a cover. Scoop out inside of each tomato with a teaspoon. Save pulp from 4 tomatoes and set aside. (You can use the remaining pulp in place of diced tomatoes in another recipe. It freezes well).
- Coarsely grate onion. Heat 2 Tablespoons butter in a saucepan and cook the onions until soft. Add 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Add rice, cover and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Put the cooked rice, meat, pine nuts, parsley, mint, spices, currants, tomato pulp, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly by hand. Stuff the tomatoes with the mixture and dot with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter. Place the stuffed tomatoes in a heavy shallow pan, add the chicken broth or water, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until the meat filling is done. As the dolmas cook, add some water if necessary. Serve hot with fresh, crusty bread.