Low Carb Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) Recipe

Prepping the leaves and filling:

1. Remove the grape leaves from the jar and rinse them by putting them in a large bowl with water and changing the water a few times.
2. In another bowl, pour the chicken broth, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and squeeze the lemon juice into it. Set aside.
3. Chop the onion, fennel, garlic, parsley, and dill (if using fresh).
4. In a large pan over medium heat, saute the onion, fennel and garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil until softened and translucent. Turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley and dill. Mix together and let sit in the pan.
5. In a large bowl, break up the ground beef. Add salt, pepper, 1 Tbsp olive oil, and eggs. Mix briefly with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the sautéed vegetables from the pan and mix.

Rolling the dolmas:

1. Lay one grape leaf, shiny side down, on your work surface, with the top of the leaf pointing directly away from you. Place 1 Tbsp of the meat mixture on the bottom of the leaf. Elongate the filling just a bit and roll the leaf around it, rolling away from you, one turn.
2. While holding the filling in place, tuck-in the sides like you would when rolling a burrito. Finish rolling the grape leaf around the filling, and place seam side down in a 9×13 baking dish.
3. Continue rolling grape leaves around the filling until you run out of filling or grape leaves. Note: You may need an extra baking dish to cook all of them.
4. Cooking:
5. Preheat oven to 350F and place rack in middle position.
6. Pour the chicken broth and lemon juice mixture over the dolmas until it reaches half way up the sides of them.
7. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil or a tight fitting lid. Bake for 45 minutes.