Dolmades (sometimes pronounced: dohl-MAH-thes) are the Greek version of stuffed grape leaves, a beloved food consumed throughout Greece, the Balkans and throughout the Middle East.
Just the word 'Dolmades' (Ντολμάδες) makes me hungry!
Just the word 'Dolmades' (Ντολμάδες) makes me hungry!
But what's in them? The vine leaves are stuffed with a tasty meat and rice mixture and loaded with fresh herbs in this recipe.
Dolmades may take time to prepare (mainly to roll), but they are 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 cup parsley, finely chopped
Two tablespoons of dill, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups of water
Two 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 three 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, fold both sides towards the middle and roll up completely.
Place each dolmade 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.