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Dolma or dolmades, a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dish, consist of stuffed grape leaves from the vines of a grape plant. The Arabic word dolma means “something stuffed,” usually used to describe a number of vegetables prepared this way. There are many versions of dolma that differ in the ingredients used for stuffing. Common vegetables to use are zucchini, eggplant, tomato, and peppers. This is usually accompanied with lamb or beef, but vegetarian versions are also fairly commonplace. As a rule of thumb, grape leaves stuffed with meat are usually served hot and vegetarian dolma is served at room temperature.

Grape leaves are easily found in most grocery stores packaged in preservative jars. It is important to blanch and chill them before use to take away some of the overpowering saltiness. A traditional Greek preparation of dolma consists of onions, olive oil, one and a half pound ground meat, one cup rice pre-cooked, one tablespoon chopped mint and one tablespoon parsley. This is all sautéed together and then baked, steamed, or microwaved. Usually the leaves are folded by starting with bottom corners, then rolling the leaves up by the stem line. If you're not looking to take on the food origami, already prepared grape leaves can be found in stores such as World Harvest and Euro-Mart in CU.