Dolmadakia (gr) – stuffed vine leaves or grape leaf rolls

This is a recipe that needs lots of time. It is not difficult but you will need to spend some time in the kitchen.

I got some fresh vine leaves and we eat very happily stuffed vine leaves. I got really a lot, so made 3 piles. The first one I used to cook the first dolmadakia and then I froze the other two piles for later.

Ingredients:

• 30 very big vine leaves (they were before being boiled 230gr) plus some of the damaged or the ones you needed to cut for the bottom of the pot
• half a lemon in slices for the bottom of the pot
• 2 medium onions
• olive oil
• greens – chopped 3 cups – you can use a mix of parsley, dill, peppermint and spring onions ( I used the green part of a leek what I had from my balcony: peppermint, spring onions (the green part), chives, leaves of carrots, spinach, kale red/purple and green, parsley, collard greens and chard
• 350 gr of rice (I used a short grain one – the one for the milk rice/rice pudding, in Germany: Milchreis)
• 350gr of water
• wine or beer (optional, you can use also water)

Preparation

Fotos of the folding method in the end of the preparation

• Wash very well the vine leaves, check them for damaged parts or parts with “guests” (since you should be using leaves that have no chemicals, most probably you will have some guests on the leaves!)

• You have to blanch them in boiling water with added salt. Depending on size of your leaves let them between 2 and 3 minutes. They will change color, which is normal!

• Heat the olive oil and add the onion till golden.

• Then add the chopped leek and when it is almost cooked add a bit of wine or beer or water

• Add the rest of the chopped greens and cook in medium heat for up to 5 minutes

• Add the rice and let it take the aromas of the green for a couple of minutes and add the water

• Cook till the water is absorbed
• Let it cool down before starting with the stuffing procedure.
• Add in the bottom of the pot that you will cook the dolmadakia a couple of vine leaves and the half lemon in slices. On top of this you will be placing the dolmadakia

• Place the first leave on a plate, place a table spoon (you must adjust your quantity according to the leaves you have. Mine were quite big)

• Fold first the upper part of the leave, then the sides and then roll it down

• It should be tight enough not to open but not to tight, cause the rice will soak more water while cooking and you do not want to have “ruptured” dolmadakia.
• Place them one next to the other but not extremely tight. Check the fotos in the post.

• When you are done, add water and salt (like cooking rice) till you cover them and then place a dish on top of them.

• Cook them 20 min with the lid (the rice instructions that I used say 20 min, so I followed this) in medium to low temperature
• When the 20 min pass, turn off the stove, remove the lid and the dish and give them 15 minutes before you serve.

• It can be served ideally with zaziki or yoghurt sauce with peppermint or just pure lemon and pepper.

Tip:

If you get lots of vine leaves, you can freeze them and use them another time. We have a post how to do it.

How to freeze vine or grape leaves