Cooking lesson Ntolmadakia, (stuffed vine leaves)

Ntolmadakia (stuffed vine leaves) Recipe

½ kg Vine leaves (medium sized) washed and blanched in boiling water – attention-do not boil them.
½ kg of glaze rice
2 green onions, finely chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, grated
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
½ bunch of mint, finely chopped
¼ bunch dill or fennel, finely chopped
¼ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. salt
Juice of 2 medium-sized lemons
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Finely chop all herbs and grate the tomatoes, zucchini and carrot. Then put them together with the rice, pepper, salt and olive oil in a bowl and blend them manually. Add a little bit of water and pour some lemon juice.
Place 2-3 vine leaves on the bottom of a large pot. Place one vine leave at a time on a plate (bottom-side up with the glossy side facing the plate). And place a generous tablespoon of filling in the centre of each leaf, then fold the left and right sides over the filling and last the tip of the leaf. Place the roll, seam side down, in the lined pot in a circular manner. Continue with the remaining leaves and filling, placing them tightly together in the pot and continuing onto a second layer as necessary.

On the top of the ntolmadakia (already placed in the pot) place a plate (facing downwards) and over the plate a cup filled with water to keep the ntolmadakia steady.
Place the pot on the stove and add salted boiling water, lemon juice, and the remaining olive oil so that ntolmadakia will be covered.
Cook until the rice is tender and the leaves are very tender about 40 minutes.

Enjoy!