“Yaprakia” Dolmadakia with minced meat with avgolemono sauce

It’s easier to make this incredible meze and even better to eat it than trying to find its correct name. Opinions differ between dolmadaki, sarmadaki and yapraki and these names change from place to place in Greece as well as the ingredients used to make them. This confusion results in finding dolmades, sometimes wrapped in vine leaves and sometimes in cabbage. The same happens with the filling. In some places, the name means “stuffing with rice” whereas elsewhere the same name means “stuffing with minced meat” and in other places “stuffing with meat”. These names have Turkish origins, so let’s take a look at the etymology:
- Yaprak means “leaf”, any kind of green leaf. For example vine leaf, lettuce leaf, beet leaf, cabbage, spinach etc.
- Sarma means “rolled”. It can be anything rolled that has stuffing. It’s not necessary to contain vegetables, it can be pasta or even a dessert.
- Dolma means “stuffed” and it’s used for a variety of vegetables like tomatoes, courgettes, eggplants etc. that we can stuff with anything we want. It is also used for vine leaves only, whether their stuffing is rice or mince.
Nevertheless, in our family, we always distinguished the dolmadakia from the yaprakia depending on their stuffing. We call yaprakia the ones stuffed with minced meat. We might be right or wrong but as the greek actor, Giorgos Konstantinou said in a movie, I don’t want to learn about it…I want to eat it! So let’s begin with the recipe because no matter how you call them, their flavour is unique. As for the thick, sour avgolemono cream that accompanies the dolmades, it’s just dreamy!
Ingredients
You’ll make approximately 100 dolmades but it also depends on the size of the vine leaves
- 300 g vine leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil for the pot
For the filling
- 500 g ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped in the chopper
- 1/2 cup carolina rice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
For the avgolemono sauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp cornstarch for every cup of broth
Preparation
For the vine leaves
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 dolmades
Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl and knead the mixture well. Take some vine leaves that you won’t use because, for example, they have been torn and lay them at the bottom of the pot. You can even layer the leftover parsley stalks to give some more flavour.

On a plate, place a vine leaf with the nerves on the upper side. Put 1 tablespoon of filling at the bottom end. Fold the lower section of the leaf over the filling towards the center; bring the two sides in towards the center and roll them up tightly.

Place each rolled dolma in the pot, one next to the order, in layers. Pour half a cup of olive oil over the dolmades and place a plate upside down on top of them to keep leaves from moving. It is good to add some extra weight on top of the plate, like a stone, to make sure that the dolmades won’t unfold. Pour a little salt in some hot water and pour it over the dolmades until covered. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
For the avgolemono sauce
When it’s ready, carefully drain the broth in another saucepan, measuring how many cups there are and prepare the avgolemono sauce. Beat the eggs very well, preferably in a blender. Squeeze the lemons and dissolve the cornstarch in their juice. The ratio is 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for each cup of broth. Pour the mixture into the eggs and stir well.
Slowly add 2-3 ladles of hot broth while beating the mixture. Then return it to the saucepan, mixing well with the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil until it gets thick and creamy.
After that, you have two options. The first option is to pour the sauce into the pot and shake it to spread the sauce over the dolmades. The second option is to put the sauce in a saucepan so that everyone can put as much sauce as they want on their plate. This option is more convenient because if the sauce thickens, you can dilute it with a little water.
For photos of the sauce step by step, click on the Traditional Greek cabbage rolls, recipe
Enjoy!
Nanà…

“Yaprakia” Dolmadakia with minced meat with avgolemono sauce
Ingredients
You’ll make approximately 100 dolmades but it also depends on the size of the vine leaves
- 300 g vine leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil for the pot
For the filling
- 500 g ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped in the chopper
- 1/2 cup carolina rice
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- Salt and pepper
For the avgolemono sauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp cornstarch for every cup of broth
Preparation
For the vine leaves
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 dolmades
Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl and knead the mixture well. Take some vine leaves that you won’t use because, for example, they have been torn and lay them at the bottom of the pot. You can even layer the leftover parsley stalks to give some more flavour.
On a plate, place a vine leaf with the nerves on the upper side. Put 1 tablespoon of filling at the bottom end. Fold the lower section of the leaf over the filling towards the center; bring the two sides in towards the center and roll them up tightly.
Place each rolled dolma in the pot, one next to the order, in layers. Pour half a cup of olive oil over the dolmades and place a plate upside down on top of them to keep leaves from moving. It is good to add some extra weight on top of the plate, like a stone, to make sure that the dolmades won’t unfold. Pour a little salt in some hot water and pour it over the dolmades until covered. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
For the avgolemono sauce
When it’s ready, carefully drain the broth in another saucepan, measuring how many cups there are and prepare the avgolemono sauce. Beat the eggs very well, preferably in a blender. Squeeze the lemons and dissolve the cornstarch in their juice. The ratio is 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for each cup of broth. Pour the mixture into the eggs and stir well.
Slowly add 2-3 ladles of hot broth while beating the mixture. Then return it to the saucepan, mixing well with the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil until it gets thick and creamy.
After that, you have two options. The first option is to pour the sauce into the pot and shake it to spread the sauce over the dolmades. The second option is to put the sauce in a saucepan so that everyone can put as much sauce as they want on their plate. This option is more convenient because if the sauce thickens, you can dilute it with a little water.
Source: https://cookeatup.com/en/yaprakia-dolmadakia-with-minced-meat-with-avgolemono-sauce/