Dolmathakia Avgolemono Meat Stuffed Grape Leave Food

DOLMATHAKIA (STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES WITH RICE AND HERBS)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Rinse the leaves well to remove brine.
• Place the leaves in boiling water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes to soften them and make them more pliable. Remove from water and set aside.
• In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, heat 1/2 cup olive oil. Sauté the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the rice, parsley, dill, pine nuts, mint, salt, and pepper. Taste test and adjust the seasoning as desired.
• Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow the filling to cool about 10 minutes.​
• Line the bottom of a heavy saucepan with 2 or 3 grape leaves (use the broken or torn ones for this).
• Roll the dolmathakia by placing a leaf with the stem toward you on a flat surface. The underside of the leaf should be face up. (The veins of the leaf are raised on the underside.) Using the point of a sharp paring knife, cut out the stem of the leaf. Overlap the bottom two sections of the leaf toward the center.
• Place a tablespoon of filling in the bottom center of the leaf, just above the stem.
• Fold the bottom section up to cover the filling.
• Fold the sides in toward the center.
• Continue rolling the packet up toward the top point of the leaf.
• Place the rolls in layers, seam-side down, in the saucepan.
• Pour remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over the dolmathakia and enough water to cover them by about 1 inch.
• Place an inverted heatproof plate on top of the rolls to keep them submerged in the water.
• Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the leaves are tender and the rice filling is cooked through.
• Serve and enjoy!

DOLMADAKIA AVGOLEMONO: GRAPELEAVES IN A LEMONY SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the onion with ¼ cup olive oil in a pot and cook over medium heat until soft and golden. About 10 minutes.
• Combine the ground beef, herbs, rice, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Add the cooked onions and the oil that they were cooked in. Mix until combined.
• Rinse and dry the grape leaves. Cut the hard stem from each leaf. Reserve the smallest and the torn leaves to lay on bottom of pot.
• Lay a grape leaf shiny side down and place a tablespoon of rice filling on the bottom end of the leaf, near the stem.
• ​Fold the stem end of leaf over the filling. Fold the sides over and roll up snugly but not too tight. The rice will expand while cooking.
• Repeat with all of the remaining grape leaves until your filling is done.
• Layer half of the small and torn grape leaves to create a bed for the dolmades in a pot.
• Season the lamb on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the pot along with the grape leaves.
• Place the dolmades seam side down and very close together over the bed of leaves. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
• Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the dolmades.
• ​Place the remaining reserved small leaves over the dolmades.
• Pour the water or chicken stock over the dolmades.
• ​Place an inverted plate over the dolmades to weigh them down and to prevent them from moving around and opening while cooking.
• Cover with lid and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to a simmer and cook about 45 minutes or until tender.
• Carefully strain the liquid out of the pot into a pitcher. There should be 3 cups of liquid. Add more water or chicken broth if there's not enough. Place the broth in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Combine the egg yolks, cornstarch, lemon juice, and dill in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth.
• Add some of the hot broth to the eggs and whisk well to temper.
• Add the egg mixture to the pot and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened.
• Either pour the sauce over the dolmades or pour some over them and serve the remaining sauce in a gravy boat alongside the dolmades with some lemon wedges.
• Enjoy!

"DOLMATHAKIA AVGOLEMONO" MEAT STUFFED GRAPE LEAVE

Steps:

• 1. If using fresh grape leaves, wash and blanch them by dipping in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, depending on thickness of leaves. Remove leaves and place them in a bowl and cover with cold water to cool. Cut off the stems. If using bottled or canned wash thoroughly to remove salt. If you feel they are not tender enough, they also can be blanched for about 3 minutes.
• 2. To prepare filling, soak the rice for 10 minutes in hot water and drain. In a bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onions, olive oil, parsley, dill or mint, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Mix well by hand.
• 3. To stuff the leaves , place a teaspoon of stuffing on the non-shiny surface of each grape leaf at the point where the stem was. Fold up the bottom of the leaf over the filling, then each side inward and roll up loosely but firm to give mixture room to expand while cooking. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
• 4. Line the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot with broken or unused leaves. Place the dolmathakia on top, packing them closely together (not squashed), seam side down, so they don't unroll while cooking. Layer them all in the pot (I usually get 2-3 layers). Place several unused leaves on the top. Weigh down the dolmathakia by placing a heavy plate upside down on top of the dolmathakia. Add 2 cups of water to the pot and cover. Bring the water to a gentle boil. Add the remaining lemon juice, remaining salt, pepper and olive oil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for approximately 50-70 minutes. Check to see if done. If the rice has cooked, they are done. If not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes and check again. Cooking time differs on type of pot used and the stovetop element.
• 5. Avgolemono: Traditional Greek Egg-Lemon Sauce This creamy sauce works wonderfully with most vegetable dishes - casserole and steamed - and is a favorite with stuffed cabbage. Use it to give a special touch to leftovers containing ground meat, rice, or vegetables where the lemon taste will blend. Ingredients: 2-3 eggs, separated juice of 2-3 lemons broth from the dish being cooked Preparation: With a fork beat eggs both yolks and whites), slowly add the lemon juice. While beating or whisking continuously, slowly add 2-3 ladlesful of broth. Add the avgolemono sauce on the dolmathakia- in the pot and shake the pot in a circular way so the sauce covers all the dolmathakia. Don't stir with fork or spoon cause the dolmathakia will break. Cover with a towel for 10 minutes and then serve.
• 6. Serving: Individual servings of dolmathakia are 4-5 pieces on small plates as an appetizer, however they can also be used as a side or main dish. Storage: These will keep well in the refrigerator for several days. Return to room temperature before serving. Drizzle olive oil on top and cover to store. These can also be frozen. If you do freeze, reheat in the microwave or by steaming and serve warm. Don't just thaw and eat. It is always best to make the Egg Lemon Sauce fresh. Tips: With any leftover filling you can stuff vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and eggplant. To make as a main course, use larger grape leaves and increase the amount of filling to 1 Tbsp on each leaf.

DOLMADAKIA WITH AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

Steps:

• Do not cook the rice, but soak it in boiling water 5 minutes and drain in a sieve.
• Unfold the vine leaves and rinse under cold running water.
• In a bowl, combine the the rice, onions, meat, mint, parsley, seasonings and oil; mix together with clean hands.
• Form 1 Tbs of the mixture into an oval shape, place on a vine leaf and roll up, turning the ends in to seal; repeat until all the stuffing is used.
• Arrange stuffed leaves closely packed in layers in a small flame-proof baking dish (I use an 8 x 8-inch pan or a Pyrex deep 9-inch pie pan).
• Pour in the broth or water to cover; sprinkle with the juice of 1 lemon.
• Place a heat-proof plate on top of the grape leaves to weigh them down.
• Cover with foil, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour over very low heat.
• Let the leaves cool slightly in the broth and remove from broth, reserving the broth.
• Beat the egg yolks Add the juice of the other lemon to the yolks.
• Heat the yolk mixture, slowly adding some of hot broth from dolmadakia while heating.
• Remove from heat, stir into rest of broth and let stand 5 minutes to thicken.
• Serve immediately while sauce is warm.

STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES (DOLMA) WITH EGG-LEMON SAUCE (AVGOLEMONO)

Steps:

• DOLMA DIRECTIONS:.
• Saute onions and celery with 1 tablespoon butter until wilted. In a large bowl, add ground lamb, onions, celery, rice, mint sauce, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Remove grape leaves from jar and open up onto a large plate.
• Remove one leaf (the bigger the better) and place onto a flat surface with shiny side down.
• Place a small amount of the filling toward the stem side of the leaf and then roll up (tuck in the left and the right side as you roll) towards the top of the leaf.
• Make sure you do not put too much filling in each one.
• Grease the bottom of a Corningware dish or Saucepot with a little oil or Pam, and then line the bottom with some of the smaller grape leaves that you did not use as rollups.
• Place into the dish/pot the rolled grape leaves close together and arrange in layers.
• Add chicken stock, lemon juice, wine or sherry, and remaining tablespoons of butter.
• In order to prevent the grape leaves from opening up during cooking, place a small flat Corningware plate or lid on top of the grape leaves.
• Then place Corningware glass cover onto the Corningware pot.
• Simmer on low for about 1 hour.
• After the 1 hour, set aside to cool.
• While cooling, make the egg-lemon sauce.
• After the sauce is made and you have drained the stuffed grape leaves by holding the lid in place and pouring the liquid into the sink, place several stuffed grape leaves on a dish and pour some hot egg-lemon sauce on top and serve.
• EGG-LEMON SAUCE DIRECTIONS:.
• Lightly beat 2 egg yolks with 1/4 cup of water.
• In a measuring cup, place 2 or 3 tablespoons lemon juice and add enough water for a total of 3/4 cup of liquid. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons peanut oil in a small pot and then add the cornstarch, stirring. Add a little of the lemon juice and water mixture to prevent it from becoming lumpy.
• Next, add a little more of the lemon juice and water mixture until smooth, and then add the rest of the lemon juice and water mixture and continue stirring until smooth.
• Remove from the heat for about 1 minute.
• Gradually add the beaten egg yolk mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth. (Keep in mind that heating will cause the eggs to set, which you do NOT want to do.).
• NOTE: If you have any stuffed grape leaves leftover, you can heat them in a frying pan the next day and serve with the egg-lemon sauce. Or microwave the stuffed grape leaves with some egg-lemon sauce on top, prior to heating.

DOLMADAKIA (STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES)

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large frying pan (reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil for later use). Sauté onions with salt until transparent. Add pepper and rice, cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add dill, parsley, scallions, juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup of the water. Cook 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Correct seasoning.
• Rinse grape leaves very well; drain, separate very carefully. Place shiny side down. Put about 1 tablespoon filling on each leaf near base. Starting at base, fold over, fold in sides, then roll tightly toward tip into cigar shape.
• Line bottom of kettle with several of the imperfect leaves (to prevent sticking). Arrange rolls in kettle, side by side, in layers. Add reserved 2 tablespoons olive oil and juice of remaining lemon and 1 cup water. Weight down with heat proof plate. Simmer gently 25 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup water, simmer 25 minutes more. Cover rolls in kettle, then refrigerate. To serve, pile stuffed grape leaves on serving plate; garnish with lemon slices. Serve at room temperature.