Just the word 'Dolmades' (Ντολμάδες) makes me hungry!
But what's in them? In this recipe, the vine leaves are stuffed with a tasty meat and rice mixture and loaded with fresh herbs.
Dolmades may take time to prepare (mainly to roll), but they are absolutely worth every minute of preparation!
I could eat these all day, every day and I am excited to share my family recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram of beef or pork mince
- vine leaves
- 1 cup of rice
- 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 of cup parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons of dill, finely chopped
- 1/4 of cup olive oil
- 2 cups of water
- 2 lemons, juiced
- salt and pepper to taste
Method to make Dolmades
- Start by preparing the vine leaves. In this recipe, I use vine leaves sold in jars- wash the leaves individually, remove the stems and leave them in a colander to drain.
- Prepare the filling. In a large bowl combine the mince, rice, onion, parsley, dill, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of a large casserole dish.
- Now time to assemble the dolmades. Lay a vine leave on a plate in front of you. Place one tablespoon of the mixture towards the stem end of the leaf. Firmly roll the stalk end over the filling, then fold both sides towards the middle and roll up completely.
- Place each dolmada into the casserole dish. Repeat this process until you have used up all the filling. Ensure you arrange the dolmades close together in a single layer.
- Pour 2 cups of hot water over the dolmades in the dish. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Place a heat-proof plate on top of the dolmades to weigh them down. Cover the casserole dish with the lid.
- Cook on medium heat for about an hour or until the dolmades are tender.
- Remove casserole dish from heat.
- The best step of all- enjoy!
Check out our other recipes here:
- Amigthalota- Greek Almond Biscuits Recipe
- Tirokafteri- Greek Spicy Feta Dip Recipe
- Horta Vrasta- Greek Boiled Leafy Greens Recipe
- Melitzanes Papoutsakia- Greek stuffed Eggplant Recipe
- Mussels Saganaki Recipe
- Greek-inspired lamb burgers Recipe
- Spanakorizo- Spinach and Rice Recipe
- Sokolatopita- Greek Chocolate Cake Recipe
- Loukoumades: Greek Honey Puffs Recipe
