Here we are again in the kitchen of Vacanzegreche! Today we bring you one of the typical dishes of the Greek tradition: the Dolmades! Nothing but rice rolls, herbs, spices and if you want some meat too. All wrapped in vine leaves. How tasty!
Dolmades are generally eaten as "mezedes", or Greek appetizers, and are also served with a glass of Ouzo, an aniseed distillate. In short, the Greeks know how to make excellent aperitifs with friends!
In reality they also know it well in Turkey, Lebanon, Israel and Armenia, other countries where you love to taste these delicious appetizers with friends!
Vegetarian or vegan dolmades
Vegetarians or vegans will be able to enjoy these tasty Dolmades by replacing the meat. To create a vegan alternative, just combine rice with herbs, onion, 2 small courgettes, lemon juice and a handful of pine nuts and raisins. Then you can safely proceed with the preparation described in the recipe below.
But now let's go and see what we need to prepare these original and tasty aperitifs!
Level: Easy
Preparation time: 1 hour
Servings: for 4 people
kcal: 200
Ingredients:
(calories refer to 100 g of product)
basmati rice, 100 gr
vine leaves, 25 g or a jar
veal minced meat, 100 gr
garlic, 1 clove (79 kcal)
onion, 1/2 (21 kcal)
vegetable broth, 400 ml (43 kcal)
olive oil, to taste (901 kcal)
butter, 10 gr (380 kcal)
lemon 1/2 (304 kcal)
mint to taste
thyme to taste (661 kcal)
dill to taste
parsley to taste (79 kcal)
sea salt to taste (286 kcal)
black pepper to taste (79 kcal)
Preparation:
First of all, take care of the vine leaf: you will have to wash it under running water, dry it and blanch it in water. Then drain them and spread them on a cloth or absorbent paper.
Now prepare the filling: take a pan and put garlic and oil, add the minced meat, the raw rice, the onion and the aromatic herbs. Toast the whole and turn often adding salt and pepper to taste.
Go back to the vine leaf, spread it with the stem upwards, put the rice in the center, roll up starting from the bottom and close by folding the ends in half. Doing so will result in very narrow and cylindrical Dolmades.
Take a vine leaf and spread it on the base of the pot, on top lay the rolls by attaching them to each other. Cover them entirely with melted butter and vegetable broth and let them cook for about 40 minutes, or until the broth has been absorbed by the Dolmades.
Once ready, serve them flat and let them cool. After a few minutes your Dolmades will be ready for your aperitif with friends!
Tips!
Served with some lemon wedges they will be even tastier!
Vine leaves should not be treated. If you don't manage to find them fresh, you can find those canned or already blanched in supermarkets.
Dolmades must be tightened by the leaf
Make sure you attach the rolls well to each other, otherwise they may come up during cooking
Traditionally, rice should not be cooked, if you prefer it softer, cook it in salted water and drain when it is al dente so you can add it to the rest of the filling.
NUTRITIONAL VALUES per 100 g
Energy 690kj / 16528Kcal
Fat 8.8 g of which saturated 1.2 g
Protein 2.3 g
Carbohydrates 21.5 g of which sugars 1.4
Fiber 4.5
Sodium 0.82 g
With the hope of having given you some tools to be able to think as little as possible about the difficult situation we are all experiencing, we hope that you will appreciate this simple, rich and tasty recipe of one of the most loved dishes by the Greeks and by those who Greece love it more every day! Enjoy your meal!