Roll your own dolmades at Opa

Need a break from the monotony of the work day? Mosey on down to Opa (1311 Sansom St.) and try one of their new “hands-on” appetizers — dolmades.

You may have seen the canned variety at your local salad bar. (They’re grape leaves stuffed with rice.)

But for only $20, you get your own board with all of the ingredients to create different variations of this delicious Greek delicacy, which includes two types of meat!

Stuff your fresh brined grape leaves with braised beef, paprika chicken, seasoned rice (apricots, dates and currants mixed in), feta, tursi (a selection of pickled veggies), chickpea salata and housemade spiced pepper condiments (the red one is Florina peppers with dill and parsley and the green one is long hots).

According to Chef Bobby Saritsoglou, the inspiration for the dish came from family:

“The idea came from cooking with grandma and mom and my aunts. Rolling dolmades is something they did all together because it’s kind of a tedious thing to roll 50 or 100 of them for a big feast so everybody would gather around the table.”

If you’re not super hungry, you and a friend could easily split the dish for a light lunch. Otherwise, it’s the perfect appetizer.

For more information, visit: opaphiladelphia.com.