Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves)- vegan, gluten free

Dolmades are even more delicious drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil!!

We didn't have a holiday in Greece this year, but luckily we have these yummy little mouthfuls of flavour to remind us of the sunshine, blue sea and olive trees! Dolmades are a kind of European equivalent of sushi or lettuce rolls, and they make a lovely simple Summer meal along with hummus, a green salad and perhaps some steamed new potatoes. They're also perfect for slipping into lunchboxes and picnic baskets...

We made about 20 with these quantities:

20 pre-cooked vine leaves (We bought the vacuum-packed kind)

1 cup (dry weight) brown rice, long or short grain

4 level tabs ground almonds

1 heaped tab yeast flakes (aka nutritional yeast)

10 stoned black olives

1 level tab fresh mint

1 tsp fresh flat-leaved parsley

1/2 tab extra-virgin olive oil

1 tab lemon juice

1 level tsp seasalt

1/4 tsp coarse black pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp compound hing

• Cook the rice in twice the amount of water until soft and the water is absorbed.
• Meanwhile prepare the rest of the filling: grind the almonds and chop the herbs and olives finely.
• Mix the rest of the ingredients and seasonings with the rice and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
• Roll up the filling inside the vine leaves as shown below:

Put the filling towards the bottom of each leaf, fold in the sides and roll tightly, placing the end of the roll underneath so that it doesn't come undone.