- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: about 50 pieces
Any Greek feast would not be complete without dolmades (dohl-MAH-thehs). Typically, these are made with lamb only, but I know quite a few Americans who don’t care for the distinctive taste of lamb.
In this case, I have cut the lamb with an equal part of ground turkey. You can use beef, or for a vegetarian or vegan dish, use only rice for the stuffing.
To make the latter, called yelantzi, use a full cup of rice or 3/4 cup rice and 1/4 cup pine nuts for protein.
Dolmades are a staple for any mezes—tavern appetizers—where friends and family gather to sample and share appetizer-sized plates over Retsina, beer, and ouzo.
Among the most iconic of Greek appetizers, dolmades are unique in flavor, aromatic, and worth every minute of the time-intensive preparation.
Look for grape leaf brands with consistency in size, a lack of tears, and tenderness. I found the Indo-European brand of California grape leaves to be good.
My Greek mother, on the other hand, insists on procuring grape leaves grown and imported from vineyards in Greece only. Sure, but I have yet to find a brand that is readily available where we live.
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 8 ounces of ground lamb
- 8 ounces of ground turkey
- 1 large bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 bunch Italian (flat-leafed) parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
- 8 ounces of brined grape leaves (usually available in 16-ounce jars)
Instructions
- Fry the onion, sprinkled with a dash of salt, in olive oil, until soft and transparent. Meanwhile, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all the other ingredients, except the grape leaves. Add the fried onions. Mix well.
- To roll the grape leaves, take one leaf at a time and place it on the rolling surface, under-leaf side up, with the base of the leaf toward you and the tip away. Pinch off any stub of the stem.
- Place approximately 1 heaping tablespoon of meat filling at the base of the grape leaf. Begin rolling by folding over the bottom edges, then tucking in the sides.
- Give it a forward roll away from you, then tuck in the sides again. Repeat until the leaf tip is reached.
- Do not roll the grape leaves too tightly, as the rice inside needs room to absorb liquid and expand. Each dolma should be about 2 inches long.
- Place the stuffed dolmades side by side in a medium-sized sauce pan. Fit them fairly snuggly together, leaving no spaces between them yet room to expand.
- When you finish one layer, begin the next. Finish with a complete layer. In an average medium-sized saucepan, this recipe should yield two complete layers.
- Cover dolmades with water so that the water level is about 2 inches above the top layer. Place a heavy plate directly on top of the dolmades in the pot to prevent the rolls from opening. Bring to a low boil and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove from heat and drain any remaining liquid. Arrange them on a serving platter. Dolmades may be served hot or cold. Serve with tsatsiki at room temperature or avgolemono sauce when served hot.
