You can produce equally fine dolmadakia in less time by precooking the rice. Add the cooked rice to the sauteed ingredients, mix well, and set aside until cool enough to handle. Fill, roll, and pack the dolmadakia as described above, using 1 tablespoon of the rice mixture instead of ½ tablespoon. Weight and cook as described, simmering for 10 minutes only.

Though using a round pan and placing the grape leaves in concentric circles is both traditional and most amenable to weighting down with a heavy plate, you can use a rectangular or square pan and layer the leaves in rows if you have a slightly smaller, similarly shaped object to place on top of the leaves to hold them down during cooking.

If you don’t have enough dolmades to completely fill a second or third tightly packed layer, a partial one will do as long as the plate or pan you use for weighting covers the top layer well enough to keep individual dolmades from floating up and breaking apart during cooking.

Rice and raisin–filled appetizer dolmadakia keep well for several days, so you can successfully make them ahead of time for a big party. After cooling and pouring off the liquid, cover them well with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out, and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Grape Leaf Tricks

Since bottled grape leaves come in stacks with the leaves cupped together facing the same direction, you can cut off the stems from an entire stack at one time before separating the leaves for filling. For fresh grape leaves, you need to trim each leaf individually, either before or after blanching.

When filling and rolling the dolmadakia, work around any minor holes or tears by overlapping or tucking the leaf in a creative way as you go. Use leaves with major tears, or ones that are too small to roll easily, for lining the pan.

Every now and then, you will have a leaf that tears completely or just won’t cooperate as you roll it. Shake out the filling and use the rascal along with the other torn leaves to line or top the pan.

Keeping Wine-Infused Currants and Raisins at Hand

Wine-enhanced currants and raisins add an extra dash of flavor, and in Greek cooking I use lots of them, so I keep a supply soaking in the refrigerator. Generally I have on hand a container of currants, one of golden raisins, and one of dark raisins, all in tart retsina, for appetizer and entree dishes. I also keep a set of the three soaking in a sweet muscat-style Greek wine, such as Mavrodaphne, for dessert dishes. They can be soaked in regular dry and sweet white wines well. The process could not be simpler: Place a cupful or two of the fruit in a glass or plastic container that has a good lid. Pour in enough wine of choice to cover the fruit by ¼ inch or so, seal with the lid, and refrigerate.

The wine-soaked fruit will store for months. As I scoop out the currants or raisins I need for a recipe, I add more dried fruit. In due time, I use the very fruity wine collected at the bottom of the container as a dessert flavoring.