A mythical plate on the Lebanese, Greek, and Turkish tables…The cooked vine leaves, also known as dolma, are usually eaten by hands.
The word “dolma” comes from “dolmak”, which means “fill” in Turkish. The thousand-flavor-taste cannot be forgotten. And we should absolutely say that it is so rare to grab just one piece, for the ingredients are very healthy and do not contain many calories.
This culinary and gastronomic specialty is prepared with vine leaves that are either picked fresh, or preserved in jars and sold in oriental grocery stores.
“Stuffed vine leaves” is a traditional plate that can be served either hot or cold.
When it is served hot, it is tasted with Lebanese bread and yoghurt sauce (preferably ewe milk-based), and stuffed zucchini with meat. The stuffing of “hot” vine leaves consists of vegetable oil, meat (preferably lamb meat), salt, pepper, and round rice.

When it is served as a starter in the mezza, it is a vegetarian specialty. Its stuffing consists of olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, lemon jus, mint, tomatoes, and sliced onions.
Stuffed vine leaves can even be tasted with white wine, or each piece can be presented with a little stick. It can also serve as an appetizer while you are waiting for your guests: it is tasted without any moderation…