Grape Leaf Rolls with Bulgur in Olive Oil

(Zeytinyagli Bulgurlu Yaprak Sarmasi)

~400 gr grape leaves, washed one by one
1 cup hot water

Filling Ingredients:
1/3 cup bulgur, large grain, washed and drained -I always use Turkish Bulgur:)
5-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium size onion, cut in small size
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cubanalle pepper, chopped
1/2 of Bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin, if you like
Salt
Pepper

Saute the onion with olive oil until it is softened over medium heat. Add the tomato paste, cubanalle pepper, Bell pepper, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook the peppers are softened. Turn the heat off. Then add the bulgur, stir. Let it cool down.

Fill a pot half way with water and boil. Add all the leaves in it and boil for about 2-3 minutes. Drain and cut off the stems. The matte (not shiny) side of the leaf is the inside, that's where the filling will go. Grab a leaf and fold the top where the stem was. Use a teaspoon to put filling on it (picture). First fold over the top, then the two sides and roll to close it up. Line up all the rolls in the pot side by side tightly, without any holes in between.

Pour in 1 cup of hot water from the side of pot. Cook over low heat until most of the water evaporates. Leave a little bit of water at the bottom, it will go away as it's cooling down.

After it cools down, place on a service plate and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil to tops. Serve the Stuffed Grape Rolls with Bulgur at room temperature or chilled with lemon wedges.

The taste is better if it is eaten following day:)

"Dolma" is a Turkish word which means "stuffed" in English. You can make "dolma" with pepper, tomato, zucchini, eggplant, fish, apple, etc.

"Sarma" is also a Turkish word means "rolled up" in English. You can make sarma with grape or mulberry, cherry, cabbage, swiss chard, kale, bean's leaves, etc.

So, sarma shouldn't be called dolma, they are different:)