One of the most exquisite meze and one of the most beautiful appetizers of traditional Greek cuisine. They also make dolmades in other countries, mainly in the East. The Greek dolmades, fragrant and delicious, are an amazing meze for ouzo and tsipouro, and despite the fact that it is a time-consuming process, it is worth every minute! But you can also make them in the dutch oven for convenience with the same excellent result. The choice is yours!

Ingredients

• 75 vine leaves
• 500 g carolina rice
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 bunches of spring onions
• 1 bunch of dill
• 1/2 bunch mint
• Juice of 3 lemons
• Salt and pepper
• Lettuce or cabbage leaves for the bottom of the pot

The more onions and herbs you put, the tastier they become. So it’s better to have more than less.

Preparation

For the vine leaves

The delicate and tender vine leaves play an important role in the success of the dolmadakia.

Rinse the vine leaves well and cut their stalk. In a saucepan of water that gently boils, boil few leaves at a time, in tens for example. The time we leave them depends on how tender our leaves are. Indicatively, I would say 2-3 minutes for fresh vine leaves of medium size and medium hardness and 1 minute for those that are in brine, although the packaging usually says that it is not needed. This is of course optional but I recommend it because this removes the characteristic taste of packaged brine and the leaf looks fresh. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and let them cool and drain off the excess water.

For the filling

Chop finely the spring onions, dill, mint and grate the onion.

Mix them in a bowl along with the rice.

Add half of the oil, half of the lemon juice, plenty of salt and pepper.

For the dolmadakia

Take a vine leaf and place it with the shiny side underneath. If the leaves are of medium size, put about 1 tablespoon of filling, whereas if they are small, put 1 teaspoon. Fold the leaves from left and from right. Don’t tighten them too much because the rice will swell when it boils.

Roll the dolmadakia until it’s all wrapped.

Version Α΄, in the pot

Cover the bottom of the pot with lettuce leaves or cabbage leaves or even torn vine leaves so that the dolmadakia don’t stick at the bottom while boiling. Place the dolmadakia tightly next to each other. When the first row is over, continue with the second row and so on.

When you layer all the dolmadakia, cover them with a plate upside down so that they don’t unfold as they boil. If you have a stone, put it on top of the plate to make sure that the dolmadakia won’t unfold. It’s fine if you don’t have a stone. Pour the other half of the oil and the rest of the lemon juice into the pot.

Add 2 cups of hot water with a little more salt. Boil on low heat for about 40 minutes, until the liquids are absorbed and only the olive oil is left.

Version Β΄, in the Dutch oven

In this case, you don’t need to cover the bottom of the dutch oven. As before, place the dolmadakia side by side. When the first row is over, continue with the second and so on.

Pour 1 cup olive oil, water to cover them, salt and pepper. Wet a parchment paper, drain it and cover the dolmadakia. Put the lid on the dutch oven and bake at 220C for 1 hour.

No matter how you make it, be sure to accompany your dolmadakia with tzatziki or just cool yoghurt. I also suggest you to try the dolmadakia with minced meat and avgolemono sauce. Another amazing flavour!

Enjoy!

Νanà…