Dolmadakia (Greek Stuffed Vine Leaves)
Greece's vegetarian meze: small vine-leaf rolls stuffed with rice, dill, mint, parsley, pine nuts and a hint of currant. Eaten cold with lemon and olive oil.
Overview
Brined vine leaves are soaked for 20 minutes to leach the brine. Filling: short-grain rice is par-cooked for 10 minutes with onion in olive oil; off heat, dill, mint, parsley, pine nuts, currants and lemon zest are stirred through. Each leaf is given a teaspoon of cool filling and rolled into a tight cigar. The rolls are packed tight in a heavy pot lined with broken / extra leaves. Olive oil, lemon juice and stock are poured in to barely cover. Weighed down with an inverted plate. Slow-simmered for 50-60 minutes. Cooled in the liquid; served at room temperature.
Ingredients
Vine leaves
- 50 brined vine leaves (about 200 g) plus extras for lining the pot
Filling
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion (large, finely diced)
- 200 g short-grain rice (pudding rice or arborio)
- 30 g pine nuts (lightly toasted)
- 30 g currants
- 30 g fresh dill (chopped)
- 20 g fresh mint (leaves only, chopped)
- 30 g fresh flat-leaf parsley (chopped)
- 1 lemon (zest)
- 200 ml hot water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice (optional)
Cooking liquid
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 400 ml hot water (or light vegetable stock)
- 1 teaspoon salt
To serve
- Extra lemon wedges
- Greek yogurt (optional, on the side)
- Extra olive oil
Method
Stage 1 - Prep the leaves
- Soak the vine leaves in warm water 20 minutes to remove brine.
- Drain; pat dry.
- Trim any tough stems.
Stage 2 - Filling
- Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Soften the diced onion 6-8 minutes until pale.
- Stir in the rice; toast 2 minutes.
- Pour in 200 ml hot water; cover; simmer on low 10 minutes (the rice should be half-cooked and the water absorbed).
- Off the heat: stir in the pine nuts, currants, dill, mint, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper and allspice.
- Cool 15 minutes (warm filling tears the leaves).
Stage 3 - Roll
- Lay a leaf shiny-side-down on the work surface; trim any tough stem.
- Place 1 teaspoon of filling near the stem end (don't overfill - rice expands during cooking).
- Fold the stem flap up over the filling.
- Fold the two side flaps in over the filling.
- Roll up tightly to a 5-6 cm cigar.
- Lay seam-down on a plate; repeat for the rest.
Stage 4 - Pack
- Line the bottom of a heavy-based pot with any torn or imperfect leaves (sacrificial padding).
- Pack the rolls seam-down in concentric circles, tight against each other.
- Add a second layer perpendicular to the first.
- Add a third if needed.
Stage 5 - Cook
- Whisk the cooking liquid ingredients in a jug.
- Pour over the rolls until just covered.
- Invert a small heatproof plate directly on top of the rolls (keeps them submerged and stops them unrolling).
- Bring to a gentle simmer; cover; cook on low 50-60 minutes.
Stage 6 - Cool
- Remove from heat; leave the plate weight on; cool in the pot 1 hour.
- The dolmadakia absorb the remaining liquid as they cool.
Stage 7 - Serve
- Lift the rolls onto a serving platter.
- Brush with a little extra olive oil; arrange lemon wedges around.
- Serve at room temperature with a small bowl of Greek yogurt for dipping.
Notes
- Half-cook the rice in the filling: raw rice in the filling cooks unevenly and the dolmadakia split during steaming. Half-cooked rice expands gently inside the leaf.
- Cool the filling before rolling: warm filling steams the leaves and they tear.
- Tight packing keeps them sealed: loose rolls in a loose pot unfurl. Pack tight.
- Eat at room temperature: dolmadakia served straight from the fridge taste muted. Cold rice firms up; room temp brings out the herbs.
Storage
- Keeps 4 days refrigerated in their cooking liquid.
- Bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
- Freeze in their liquid 2 months; thaw overnight.
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