017Stuffed vine leaves

Method

Meatless summer style (yalantzi). Serve at room temperature or lightly chilled with lemon wedges and thick Greek yoghurt.

You will need

• wide heavy-bottomed saucepan with lid
• heatproof ceramic plate
• chopping board
• colander

1. Rinse the vine leaves thoroughly in cold water to remove excess brine, blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, and drain on a clean tea towel. 5 min Ready when: pliable and thoroughly rinsed
2. Heat 50 ml of the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat and gently soften the onions and spring onions for eight minutes until translucent without colouring. 8 min Ready when: soft and translucent
3. Stir in the rinsed rice, salt, and pepper, cook for two minutes to coat the grains, then remove from the heat and fold in the chopped dill, mint, and half the lemon juice. 3 min Ready when: rice grains translucent at edges and fragrant
4. Line the base of a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan with any torn or tough vine leaves to prevent scorching during cooking. 2 min Ready when: base completely covered with leaves
5. Lay a vine leaf flat on a clean board with the vein side facing up and the stem end towards you; snip off any remaining hard stem. 1 min Ready when: leaf flat with veins visible
6. Place one heaped teaspoon of rice filling near the stem base, fold the bottom edges up over the filling, fold in both sides snugly, and roll forwards into a neat, firm cylinder without wrapping too tightly. 20 min Ready when: compact, cigar-shaped rolls
7. Pack the rolled parcels seam-side down into the prepared saucepan in snug, tight concentric layers so they cannot unroll during cooking. 5 min Ready when: tightly wedged together
8. Pour over the remaining 100 ml olive oil, the remaining lemon juice, and 400 ml warm water, then place an inverted heavy heatproof ceramic plate directly on top of the parcels to weigh them down. 2 min Ready when: rolls firmly weighted under the plate
9. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low, cover with the pot lid, and simmer gently for forty-five minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed. 45 min Ready when: liquid reduced and leaves tender when pierced
10. Remove from the heat and allow the dolmades to cool completely in the pot with the lid off before handling, as they set and improve immensely in flavour as they reach room temperature. 40 min Ready when: firm to the touch and cooled to room temperature

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Make ahead and storing

Best made a day in advance so the rice firms up and absorbs the olive oil and lemon flavours.

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days; bring back to room temperature before eating.

Substitutions

• fresh vine leaves for vine leaves in brine. If using fresh, select tender unsprayed spring leaves and blanch them in boiling salted water for 3 minutes until softened.

Common mistakes

• Rolling the leaves too tightly around the raw rice. The rice swells substantially during simmering, which will tear tight leaves and cause the stuffing to spill out.
• Omitting the inverted plate weight on top of the rolls. Without a weight, the boiling water causes the light parcels to bob, unroll, and disintegrate in the pot.

Regional variants

• In Crete and the Dodecanese, zucchini blossoms are often stuffed alongside the leaves with the identical filling.
• Constantinopolitan versions often incorporate pine nuts and currants into the rice mixture.

About the dish

Parcels of tender grape foliage wrapped around grains have ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern antecedents, evolving into the celebrated cold meze known across Greece as dolmadakia yalantzi. The moniker yalantzi is said to stem from the Ottoman Turkish term for false or counterfeit, signalling the deliberate omission of minced meat. Eaten across the mainland and the islands, they are especially prized during Great Lent and peak summer, served cool with a lavish dressing of olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Found in all of Greece. Cooked for everyday, lent, summer.

Cousins elsewhere

• Zeytinyağlı yaprak sarması (Turkish). Both rely on vine leaves rolled around an herbed, olive-oil-enriched rice filling, though Turkish versions more frequently include pine nuts and dried currants.
• Warak enab (Levantine). Prepared in similar parcels, though Levantine versions often feature a sharper lemon profile or an entirely meat-based stuffing.

Nutrition per serving (estimate)

377 kcal · protein 4.8 g · fat 23.8 g (saturated 3.3 g) · carbohydrate 37.7 g (sugars 2.8 g) · fibre 6 g · sodium 895 mg

An estimate (summed from ingredient estimates) that varies with the exact ingredients. It is not dietary advice.

Written fresh by Epikouria editors from general culinary tradition. Recipe by the Epikouria editors. Rooted in the classic mainland and urban tavern tradition of olive-oil-rich, meatless dolmadakia yalantzi..