Delicious, Nutritious and Economical: Dolmates are perfect for a buffet or potluck dinner!
I have always loved Greek food. The Greek cuisine is one of my favourites, and dolmates are close to the top of that list. The first time I ate them was about 1982 when Hazel F, a dear friend, came to Edmonton from Red Deer for some kind of work with the University of Alberta. She was travelling with a girl friend and they invited me to join them for dinner at Cosmos (no longer in business. At that time, it was “the place” to go in Edmonton and was located where Overtime Broiler and Taproom now is. We ordered the sampler platter of appetizers and mains. “It was all Greek to me!” (Blush. I couldn’t resist!) I had never had any food flavoured like this before, and I became an immediate fan. I really don’t remember the next time I had Greek food, or even the first time I made dolmates. I know it wasn’t long after that evening, and I know I figured it out myself, over time, through trial and error. Those were the “olden days” before the internet. Now, I would just do a search, read a few recipes, and get the idea. Then, it was a little more labour intensive. In any case, I eventually succeeded, and they are exceedingly easy to make, healthy to eat, and definitely tasty.
I carefully unwrap the leaves from inside of the jar, and then rinse them well in cold water to wash away some of the brine.
I always use fresh, baby dill. Nothing else will do.
Minced garlic and onion, not too much….a kilo of lean beef, rice, and two eggs….
Knead it together…. then set the leaves in a colander and lay each out on a cutting board.
Remove the course vein from each leaf and pull the sides of the leaf together to overlap, and place a meatball size piece of the meat inside of the leaf and wrap the leaf around the meat. You will then have two ends with leaves open. Take the roll into your hand with one open end coming out between your thumb and forfinger as in the photo below to the right.
With your other thumb, tuck the leaves back into the middle of the roll. Turn the roll around, and do it again on the other end. Both ends will be neatly tucked into the middle of the roll as in the photos below.
Sometimes there may not be enough leave to tuck into the roll; just wrap it around and tuck it under the roll if that happens. Snuggle them all in a pot in layers, placing the unusable leaves on the bottom. Cover with water, and gently boil (simmer) for a couple of hours until they are cooked.
Greek Dolmates Rolled in Grape Vine Leaves
Ingredients
- 1 kilo know-your-farmer ground beef (or pork, or lamb), not too lean
- 4-6 large , plump cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ medium onion , minced (½ cup)
- 2 generous tablespoons of fresh dill , minced
- ¾ cup rice
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt (leaves are salty)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- large jar of preserved grapevine leaves
Instructions
- Unwrap grapevine leaves and rinse under cold water; place in colander and drain
- Place all, except leaves, in large bowl; knead gently to incorporate
- Wrap meat in leaves as per the instructions accompanying above photos, OR
- Place leaf, inside up and stem down on board; place meatball size portion of filling on leaf
- Fold leaf around filling; tuck ends in with thumb and middle finger while holding roll with other hand
- Cover bottom of heavy pan with grape vine leaves (hopefully damaged ones)
- Place rolled dolmates seam-side down on leaves on bottom of pan, close together; layer
- Fill pot with water to just cover dolmate layers; bring the water to a boil, then turn heat down to simmer
- Simmer with lid ajar for two hours, or until cooked; cool completely
- Serve immediately on tray with Tzitziki, or
- Layer into serving dish, cover with cooking liquid, place extra leaves on top for reheating, or freezing
Notes
I sometimes freeze rolls separately on parchment covered cookie sheet overnight, then transfer to labelled and dated ziplock bags, depending upon what I am making them for. Usually I load them into casserole dishes and freeze them until needed for buffets or potlucks. I always serve some immediately, with tzitziki, of course!
This time I was making them for our staff “Back to School Party” at the end of August and here they are below in the chaffing dish with the Tzitziki beside them in the leaf shaped dish. I still have some in the freezer. Vanja does not like these, so they will stay there until I am invited out and need to take something. Hopefully, soon!
I know you have heard me go on about how I love our multicultural mosaic, but I cannot express this enough. I haven’t been to Greece, yet. It is definitely on my list. But, I have experienced a great deal of the Greek culture within Canada through our restaurants, my neighbours and friends, and our local Heritage Festival. I am forever grateful. Greek flavours are robust and linger on one’s tongue. I like that!
dolma is turkish food dolma comes from word
dol means fill (order)
dolmak to fill mak means to
doldurmak to fill something and dolma for food
what ure trying to cook is sarma dolma
sarma comes from sar means roll (order) sarmak to roll and sarma for food
You haven’t been changed the right owner ship of the dolma. Other than that nice recipes. Please fixed that it’s not Greek it is Turkish as Ozgur already explained.
Hi Songul
Lovely to hear from you.
I will leave it as I wrote it, and honour your input and comment.
🙂
Valerie
Sorry here in Greece the most of us never use anise for the dolmadakia
We use mint try them with mintfoe a kilo of micent meat and a water glass of rice we put a bounch of mint and you will remember me
in case you do not to use meat replace it with pine nuts and raisins
Also when we made cheese pies we use inside mint too
sorry for my suggestions
have a great day
Dear Stella,
Did you use Google Translate? You received a lousy translation of my recipe. It is simple and very Greek, let me assure you:
beef, garlic, onion, dill, salt, pepper and grapevine leaves. I cannot imagine using anise in it either! I know some use mint, but I prefer dill. I have had the pinenut and raisins version and it is very tasty, but not for me. I will think of you when I make my Tzatziki with mint, as I always do. I love dipping them in this sauce.
Great big hug,
Valerie
Dolma is Turkish food amınakodumun yunanları
Yes – and it has become the food of many other cultures with many varieties, as you likely know. Through the Ottoman empire, there is evidence of the ottoman culture throughout many countries in Europe in the food, the architecture and the people, no?
🙂
Valerie