Greek · Starter · Hard
Dolmades
Vine leaves wrapped around lemony rice and herbs, gently braised in olive oil until tender. Serve them warm or cool with a dollop of yoghurt.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Dolmades, in 5 ideas
- Rinse jarred leaves well; they are very salty straight from the brine.
- Roll snugly but not tight: the rice needs room to swell or the parcels will burst.
- The plate trick keeps the dolmades weighted down so they cook evenly.
- They are genuinely better at room temperature, once the olive oil has settled into the rice.
- A low, gentle simmer keeps the leaves intact; boiling makes them fall apart.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 jar (about 500g) vine leaves in brine, rinsed
- 200g long grain rice
- 1 large onion, very finely diced
- 60ml olive oil, plus extra for the pot
- 40g pine nuts, toasted
- 40g currants
- 30g fresh dill, chopped
- 20g fresh mint, chopped
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 500ml hot vegetable stock
- Salt and black pepper
How to make it
Directions
- Soften the onion in the olive oil over medium heat for 8 minutes, then stir in the rice and cook 2 minutes until the grains turn translucent.
- Add the pine nuts, currants, half the dill, the mint, half the lemon juice, and 125ml of the stock; simmer 5 minutes, then season and cool.
- Lay a vine leaf vein-side up, trim any tough stem, and place a teaspoon of filling near the stem end.
- Fold the sides in, then roll up snugly into a neat parcel, not too tight since the rice expands.
- Line the base of a wide pan with torn or broken leaves, pack the dolmades seam-side down in snug layers.
- Pour over the remaining stock, lemon juice, and a generous glug of olive oil, then lay an inverted plate on top to keep them submerged.
- Simmer very gently, covered, for 40 to 45 minutes until the leaves are tender and the rice is cooked through.
- Rest 15 minutes in the pan, then serve warm or at room temperature with the remaining dill scattered over.
Use the torn and imperfect leaves to line the pot instead of throwing them away; they protect the good parcels from the heat.