Time spent on this dish will reap rewards in diner smiles – even without the avgolemono sauce
Early summer is a time of suspense, as I wait for the grape vines luxuriating under the sun to grow leaves big enough for a pan of dolmades.
These finger-sized rice rolls take a couple hours to make, but the reactions from diners make the time worthwhile. Plus, the wrappers are free. Grape vines grow in suburban yards and rural fields.
They’re a healthy foraged green – unless sprayed with herbicide. Those are easy enough to avoid. New York State Department of Transportation and municipalities sometimes use herbicides to knock down greenery along roads they maintain, but most home and field vines are spray-free.
Choose a grape vine. Snip off the biggest leaves, hopefully at least four or five inches across. Bigger leaves are easier to roll. I usually start with 50, sigh, and snip 100.
There’s a bump where the stem joins the leaf. Snip it off with shears, because it’ll make the rolling easier. Boil leaves for 10 minutes, in batches, then remove to an ice bath.
Then make the filling. Peter Minaki’s recipe at kalofagas.ca was my starting point, and my go-to for reliable Greek cooking advice online.
Like most recipes, you can adjust it to meet your preferences. Sub out meat for mushrooms, or a mixture of cooked vegetables along with the rice. Swap beef for lamb, or another ground meat. Use fresh tomatoes if you have them, go wild with fresh herbs, make it your own.
Dolmades
75 or so grape leaves
2 pounds ground beef
2 bunches of scallions or 2 onions, sliced or diced
½ cup olive oil
1 cup rice
½ cup chopped fresh dill
¼ cup chopped fresh mint
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 cup tomato puree or 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
Avgolemeno sauce
4 eggs
juice of a lemon
⅛ cup corn starch
⅛ cup water
For the dolmades filling:
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Add onions or scallions, and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add herbs and tomato, and cook another 5 minutes, until well combined.
Turn off the heat. Add meat or substitute, and rice, and mix until well combined.
Time to roll. Get your favorite album or mix playing on your speakers, because this will take a while.
Put a leaf shiny side down, stem end towards you.
Put a dab of filling, maybe two tablespoons, near the stem end.
Fold leaf over stuffing from the left, then the right. Or right then left.
Fold stem end up and over stuffing, rolling as you go.
Place roll in pan.
If there’s too much stuffing for that sized leaf, you won’t be able to make a neat parcel. Use less next time. It takes me two or three misshapen duds starting each batch to train my hands and eyes again. You will get a sense of the right amount for each leaf as you continue.
Repeat until you run out of leaves, stuffing, or room in the pan. You can stack as many rows as pan depth allows. It takes me about 75 minutes to roll 100, and I’ve had some practice. Many hands make short work, though, so find allies if that seems daunting.
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Pour stock over dolmades until all are covered. You’ll need at least 2 cups, possibly more, as you do want to cover the rolls. Just add water if you run short – there’s plenty of flavor in this dish already.
Cover dish with foil or lid, and put in oven for 60-70 minutes.
Dolmades are delicious straight-up, but avgolemono sauce makes them luxurious.
For avgolemono:
In a large bowl, whisk eggs until they start foaming, about 3 minutes.
Add lemon juice in a stream, while continuing to whisk, and continue beating for an additional minute.
Make cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch and water. Set aside.
Put lemon-egg mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat.
As it approaches boiling point, stir the slurry mixture again and pour half into the pot.
Turn heat to low, and continue to whisk. The mixture will start to thicken. If it doesn’t get as thick as you like in 5 minutes, add more slurry, and cook for another 5 minutes.
Once the avgolemono sauce is thick as you like, take off heat and serve.
#30#
