Ingredients

• 2 -3 dozen grape leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 large onions, minced
• 1 lb ground beef
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh dill, minced
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup beef broth
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sour cream or 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Instructions

1. Prepare grape leaves - fresh leaves need boiling water poured over them to wilt them and a soak in cold water to cool them down while preserved leaves need to be rinsed in cold water.

2. Melt butter in large pan, saute onion until slightly brown. Add ground beef and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, eggs, rice and half of the parsley. Mix thoroughly.

3. In a saucepan, heat the beef broth, tomatoes, remaining parsley, dill and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer and simmer for two minutes. In a 2 qt casserole, spoon a small amount of the broth mixture into the bottom.

4. Fill leaves, folding leaf over filling to make a "package". Arrange a layer of rolls over the sauce mixture in the casserole dish. Alternate between a small amount of sauce and another layer of rolls.

5. Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 325F for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with gravy made from melted butter and flour mixture (roux) to which the beef broth was added. The gravy should be fairly hot when added to the casserole dish.

6. Return to oven and continue baking, uncovered, for 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle lemon juice over rolls and top with sour cream or yogurt.