Rinse and drain grape leaves, set aside. Reserve about 6 to 8 imperfect leaves aside, you will need these to line the pot later.

Combine ground meat, rice, grated onion, chopped dill, chopped parsley, sliced green onions, chopped mint, salt and pepper and 1/2 the lemon zest in a bowl and mix well.

Lay a grape leave (or several at a time), vein side up and point facing away from you (stalk end towards you) on a clean flat surface (cutting board or clean counter) and put about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture towards the stalk end…give or take depending on how big the grape leave is.

Fold top part of the grape leave over the meat mixture and then fold in both sides and roll up from top (stalk side) to bottom. Do this until your mixture runs out or your grape leaves run out. See pictures below.

Line the bottom of a heavy pot with a drizzle of olive, then layer the 6-8 imperfect grape leaves on the bottom of the pot.

Layer the lemon slices randomly over the leaves then start arranging the rolled up stuffed grape leaves around the pot all the way into the center, in a snug fashion. Once you’ve filled one layer then start another layer, and so on until you’ve put all of them in the pot.

Once done layering, pour olive oil onto grape leaves, then the lemon juice and rest of the zest, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and then place a plate, that fits the pot almost perfectly, over the grape leaves.

Slowly pour broth and/or water onto the plate so it slowly trickles into the stuffed rolls. Keep adding liquid until you see the liquid right at the rim of the plate.

Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 50-60 minutes, depending on how thick you made the rolls.