12 servings
AuthorMyHorioTotal Time2 hrsDifficultyIntermediateDolmades, or stuffed grape leaves, are vine leaves wrapped into little rolls and filled with rice, meat (optional), and fresh herbs. If you are making dolmades with meat, serve them warm with a simple lemon sauce or avgolemono.
You can easily substitute the meat with more rice. For vegetarian dolmades, serve them room temperature, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top, and dip them into plain greek yogurt.
To make Dolmades:
To a large bowl, add ground meat, rice, eggs, onion, green onions, parsley, dill, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Mix thoroughly with your hands.
Set aside.
Take the grape leaves out of the jar (the leaves come rolled) and rinse them very well.
Blanch the leaves in scalding water for two to three minutes so they can soften.
Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon, and place in a bowl of ice water.
Drain and rinse a couple of times.
Keep any torn leaves.
Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of a large pot.
Place a few broken leaves down on top of the olive oil as a barrier for the dolmades (so they don't stick).
To start making dolmades, place a single leaf on the counter or cutting board.
You want the dark shiny side down and the point of the leaf at the top.
Remove the stem if it hasn't already been removed.
Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling just above the thickest part of the stem (center bottom).
If it is a large leaf, you can put up to a tablespoon of filling.
Take both bottoms of the leaf and fold them up towards the top — up and over the filling.
Fold the right and left sides towards the middle.
Then roll until you get to the end.
In order to keep the filling from coming out, place the dolmades in the pot with the leaf ends facing down.
Place them lengthwise against the outside perimeter of the pot (making a circle), packing them snugly. Keep going until you fill the pot.
Once the first layer is done, start on the second. If you are making this whole recipe, it should give you a total of three layers of dolmades.
Put a lid on your pot and put your heat on medium. Do not add water at this point.
Allow the dolmades to steam for five to ten minutes.
Add three cups of hot water to the dolmades (or enough hot water to come almost to the top of the dolmades).
Place a plate on top of the dolmades to keep them in place, and put the lid on the pot.
Cook for an hour and fifteen minutes on medium-low heat. Most of the water will be gone.
At this point, you can test one to make sure the rice has cooked through if you'd like.
Take the dolmades out with tongs and place them on a platter.
Discard the torn leaves from the bottom of the pot.
Add the juice of two small lemons to the pot and stir to release anything from the bottom.
Whisk two cups of water (or broth) and one heaping tablespoon of flour in a bowl until smooth, and add to the pot.
Whisk on medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened into a gravy-like consistency.
Pour some over the top of the dolmades, and save the rest to put on the table.
If you'd like to make classic avgolemono:
Add three cups of water (or broth) to the pot and bring to a light boil.
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, flour (or cornstarch), and lemon juice and whisk together until smooth.
Add 1/4 cup of the hot broth to the egg mixture and whisk well to temper. Keep adding 1/4 cup at a time until half the broth has been added.
Add the egg mixture to the pot and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about three minutes.
Pour some of the avgolemono over the dolmades and save the rest to put on the table.
Serve with a greek salad and fresh bread.
See more delicious side recipes here.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
To make Dolmades:
To a large bowl, add ground meat, rice, eggs, onion, green onions, parsley, dill, mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Mix thoroughly with your hands.
Set aside.
Take the grape leaves out of the jar (the leaves come rolled) and rinse them very well.
Blanch the leaves in scalding water for two to three minutes so they can soften.
Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon, and place in a bowl of ice water.
Drain and rinse a couple of times.
Keep any torn leaves.
Drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of a large pot.
Place a few broken leaves down on top of the olive oil as a barrier for the dolmades (so they don't stick).
To start making dolmades, place a single leaf on the counter or cutting board.
You want the dark shiny side down and the point of the leaf at the top.
Remove the stem if it hasn't already been removed.
Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling just above the thickest part of the stem (center bottom).
If it is a large leaf, you can put up to a tablespoon of filling.
Take both bottoms of the leaf and fold them up towards the top — up and over the filling.
Fold the right and left sides towards the middle.
Then roll until you get to the end.
In order to keep the filling from coming out, place the dolmades in the pot with the leaf ends facing down.
Place them lengthwise against the outside perimeter of the pot (making a circle), packing them snugly. Keep going until you fill the pot.
Once the first layer is done, start on the second. If you are making this whole recipe, it should give you a total of three layers of dolmades.
Put a lid on your pot and put your heat on medium. Do not add water at this point.
Allow the dolmades to steam for five to ten minutes.
Add three cups of hot water to the dolmades (or enough hot water to come almost to the top of the dolmades).
Place a plate on top of the dolmades to keep them in place, and put the lid on the pot.
Cook for an hour and fifteen minutes on medium-low heat. Most of the water will be gone.
At this point, you can test one to make sure the rice has cooked through if you'd like.
Take the dolmades out with tongs and place them on a platter.
Discard the torn leaves from the bottom of the pot.
Add the juice of two small lemons to the pot and stir to release anything from the bottom.
Whisk two cups of water (or broth) and one heaping tablespoon of flour in a bowl until smooth, and add to the pot.
Whisk on medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened into a gravy-like consistency.
Pour some over the top of the dolmades, and save the rest to put on the table.
If you'd like to make classic avgolemono:
Add three cups of water (or broth) to the pot and bring to a light boil.
In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, flour (or cornstarch), and lemon juice and whisk together until smooth.
Add 1/4 cup of the hot broth to the egg mixture and whisk well to temper. Keep adding 1/4 cup at a time until half the broth has been added.
Add the egg mixture to the pot and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook until slightly thickened, about three minutes.
Pour some of the avgolemono over the dolmades and save the rest to put on the table.
Serve with a greek salad and fresh bread.
See more delicious side recipes here.
Enjoy!