Greek Dolmades With Avgolemono Sauce Food

DOLMADES

Steps:

• Drain, rinse and dry grape leaves.
• Place off to the side.
• In a large bowl mix ground round, Lamb, salt, pepper, minced parsley, onion chopped, crushed or pressed garlic and Tabuli (or rice); mix well.
• Lay out one grape leaf stem up, place about 1 rounded tablespoon meat mixture near stem.
• Fold stem up over meat mixture fold one side leaf over mixture, fold top over then roll the rest but not tight.
• This is just like making a burrito.
• I use toothpicks to keep the stuffed leaves together.
• Place in at least 1 gal pot.
• Continue until all leaves are filled and snug in pot.
• If you run out of grape leaves that's okay, you can roll little balls of meat mixture and place in pot.
• Cover all stuffed leaves with chicken broth adding water if you don't have enough broth, more broth if you have it on hand (you can use just water if you want).
• Bring the broth to a boil then turn heat to low, simmer and cook covered until tender (pierced with a fork) about 30 minutes.
• Remove about 1 quart of broth from pot and let cool down a little.
• You want it hot just not scalding hot.
• In another bowl beat 4 eggs until frothy adding slowly juice from lemon.
• Take the warmed broth and add to the egg mixture slowly a 1/2 ladle at a time still beating the egg mixture.
• After all broth is mixed with egg & lemon slowly add to pot on stove.
• Cover the pot and turn flame off.
• Let sit for about 10 minutes then serve.
• I like it tart and rich so I use more eggs and lemon then the recipe calls for.
• You can experiment how many eggs and lemon you want for the egg lemon broth.
• Leftover broth in pot makes good Avgolemono (Egg Lemon soup).

GREEK DOLMADES RECIPE (STUFFED VINE/ GRAPE LEAVES DOLMATHES)

Steps:

• To make this traditional Greek dolmades recipe (stuffed vine/ grape leaves), start by preparing the vine leaves. For this dolmades recipe, you can either use vine leaves sold in jars or fresh (if you are lucky enough to find them). If you use the ones in jar, rinse the vine leaves, remove the stems and leave them in a colander to drain. If using fresh vine leaves, wash them thoroughly, remove the stems and blanch them in boiling hot water. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander to cool down completely.
• Prepare the filling for the stuffed vine/ grape leaves (dolmades). Place the rice in a colander and rinse with running water. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, add 1/3 of the olive oil and the chopped onions. Sauté the onions, until translucent (but not coloured). Add the rice and sauté for 1 more minute. Pour in 2 cups of warm water and half lemon juice and simmer for about 7 minutes, until the rice absorbs all the water and is parboiled. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the herbs, remove from the stove and set aside to cool down for a while. This will be the filling for the dolmades.
• Layer the bottom of a large pot with some vine leaves (use the ones that are little bit torn) and start rolling the dolmadakia. (This is probably the most difficult part of the traditional dolmades recipe). Place one vine leaf (shiny side down) on a flat surface and add 1 tsp of the filling at the bottom end (stem). Be careful not to overfill the dolmades, as the rice will expand during cooking. Fold the lower section of the leaf over the filling towards the center; bring the two sides in towards the center and roll them up tightly. Place the stuffed vine leaves (fold side down) on the bottom of the pot and top in snugly layers. Be careful not to leave any gaps between the dolmades to prevent them from cracking open when cooking.
• Drizzle the stuffed vine leaves (dolmathes) with the rest of the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place an inverted plate on top to hold them down when cooking and pour in enough water just to cover them. Place the lid on and simmer the dolmades for about 30-40 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the dolmades remain only with the oil.
• Remove the pot from the heat, remove the lid and plate and let the dolmades cool for at least 30 minutes.
• Serve this delicious Greek appetizer cold or at room temperature with a squeeze of a lemon. Give this traditional dolmades recipe a try and enjoy your own fresh homemade stuffed grape leaves (dolmades)!

GREEK DOLMADES WITH AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. Soak separated leaves in cold water for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients except juice from lemon and chicken broth. Using clean hand, mix until very well-blended; set aside. Drain leaves in a colander.
• 2. Place the rougher side up and stuffing one leaf at a time, scoop about ½ tbsp. lamb mixture, rolling in the palm of the hand. Place it right at the base of the leaf. If there's a stem, tear it off and discard it. Take one side and fold over the mixture and then fold the other loose end over top; repeat on the other side. Roll up firmly (not too tight or not too loose), folding in if necessary, to the end forming a cylinder shape. Repeat until lamb mixture is gone.
• 3. Cover the bottom of a tall pot with broken leaves. Place dolmades starting from the outside and working our way in (don't squeeze, just snuggle). Stack another layer if needed. Drizzle the dolmades with olive (about 1 ½ tbsp.) and with lemon juice. Place a lid and pour hot chicken broth. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring it until it just starts to simmer and bubbles appear on the outside edge. Turn heat down to medium-low, cover and cook for 1 hour.
• 4. After cooking time is over, remove carefully the lid inside the pot and check if dolmades are cooked when a fork inserted slice in easily. If not, cook for another 10 minutes with the lid of the pot on.
• 5. Use 1 cup of chicken broth from the pot and pour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat to keep it warm. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Place a damp towel underneath to keep bowl in place. Pour slowly lemon juice whisking constantly and continue whisking until airy and frothy. Very slowly, add hot broth a little at a time, whisking constantly and vigorously. When broth is almost all use, pour the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens.
• 6. Spoon Avgolemono sauce over dolmades and sprinkle parsley over top. Serve immediately. Make 50 dolmades.
• 7. To view this recipe on YouTube, click on this link >>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41LAMVyxQDk

EASY AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the lemon juice and whisk until frothy.
• While continuing to whisk, pour half the boiling broth into the eggs in a small stream, whisking vigorously and continually so that the eggs don't cook.
• Return the broth to the flame and pour the tempered eggs into the remaining broth, whisking the whole time. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly, but NEVER LET THE SAUCE BOIL. This will take about five minutes.
• Serve immediately. This sauce doesn't reheat well.

DOLMADES RECIPE

Steps:

• If using fresh leaves, wash them thoroughly and blanch it in hot boiling water for 1 - 2 minutes for younger leaves and 3 - 4 minutes for matured leaves. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl with ice cold water for a minute or two then transfer to a strainer to drain water. If using leaves sold in a jar, transfer to a strainer and run cold water for a few minutes. This process will remove the salt. Brine leaves are loaded with salt. Then drain water.
• Prepare the filling. Wash rice thoroughly and drain water. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, uncooked rice, onion, dill, parsley, salt and pepper. Once combined, stir-in the egg and blend well.
• Lay 1 grape leaf and add 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon filling depending on the size of leaf. Do not overfill and don't roll too tightly as rice will expand while cooking. Add the filling close to the base of leaf closer to the stem then fold the lower section over the filling then fold the two sides inward (towards center) and continue rolling like an egg roll. In a large pot, place dolmades with folded side down. Continue making all the dolmades, placing it in the pot in a row. Note: Make sure there are no torn pieces where filling can escape while cooking.
• Once all the dolmades are in the pot, cover top with leftover or torn grape leaves and place a plate on top of dolmades to hold it in place while cooking. Add 3 to 4 cups of water or chicken stock enough to cover dolmades and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Cover with lid.
• When done, remove grape leaves (can eat this too), plate and transfer cooked dolmades in a casserole. There will be a cup and ½ or so of liquid in the pot. This liquid will be added to the sauce.

LAHANODOLMADES ME AVGOLEMONO (STUFFED CABBAGE LEAVES)

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Carefully remove the core of the cabbage, stick a fork in the centre and boil cabbage until outer leaves become soft. Remove as many leaves as you can and continue with more leaves.
• In a bowl put the ground meat, the rice, the onion, parsley, herbs, salt and pepper, as well as half the oil and mix well.
• If the leafs are very big cut them into pieces about 4 x 4 inches and remove any hard core. Add a heaped spoonful of minced meat (the amount of the filling will depend on the size of the leaf).
• Neatly fold left edge and then right edge and then roll all the way. Wrap up into a cigar shape (don't fold too tight as the rice will expand during cooking). Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling and fold each side of the leaf and then roll.
• Place neatly in the pot (I use the same one the cabbage was boiled) starting from the edge to the centre. Second and third layers may be placed on top, then cover with the plate (which must be exactly the size of the pan). This is done so that when the lahanodolmades are boiling they will not open.
• Add the remaining olive oil and water (or stock) just to cover the plate and when reaching boiling point lower heat and cook for 45 minutes.
• Drain most of the broth keeping 1 cup for the avgolemono.
• Let them cool down for a while and then pour over the avgolemono sauce.

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.

DOLMADES WITH AVGOLEMENO SAUCE

Steps:

• Separate the grape leaves and place in a large bowl. (This will take a long time guessing 20 minutes.).
• Cover the leaves in boiling water and soak for 20 minutes.
• Drain the water and rinse leaves few times.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add onion, rice, and water.
• Cover and simmer until rice is HALF cooked, about 8 minutes.
• Drain off and discard any liquid.
• Add garlic to rice mixture.
• Mix the onion/rice mixture, ground meat, tomato puree, feta, lemon zest, green onions, dill, mint salt and pepper in a large bowl.
• PREHEAT OVEN to 375 degrees.
• Take one leaf, shiny side down, cut off the stem, and place 1 teaspoon of the mixture at the bottom (stem) end of the leaf. (If you want a bigger amount, put 1 tablespoon of filling in.).
• Fold both sides of the leaf towards the center, roll up from the broad bottom to the top, and place into a 4 QUART POT.
• Repeat with all leaves, rolling tightly- leaving no gaps as leaves are placed in pot (to prevent from opening while cooking). Put onto tray.
• Repeat until all of the filling is used up.
• Put leftover leaves in bottom of baking dish.
• Place stuffed grape leaves into a baking dish in layers, squeeze them gently, pack tightly into container, and just cover with chicken stock-might be too much stock. WEIGH DOWN BY placing a heavy oven proof plate inside casserole directly on top of dolmades-weigh that down with another oven proof weight.
• Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for about 1 hour, check to see if rice is done. You do NOT want it to be a rolling boil or they will burst open.
• Whisk the eggs in bowl over a small pan of simmering water until frothy, about 3 minutes.
• Slowly pour in the lemon juice while whisking.
• Gradually add some of the hot but not boiling liquid from the baking dish-guessing about 5 tablespoons- and continue whisking until it thickens.
• Mix most of the avgolemeno sauce into the dish with the dolmades reserving some for garnish.
• Serve the dolmades garnished with the reserved avgolemeno sauce and some chopped dill and or mint.

THE TRADITIONAL EGG-LEMON SAUCE (GREEK AVGOLEMONO) RECIPE

Steps:

• To prepare the classic Avgolemono recipe, start by cracking the eggs into a bowl and whisk well.
• Gradually add the lemon juice and whisk again to combine.
• Add a little of the warm stock or soup and whisk quickly, add more and whisk again. The reason for slowly adding the broth is to gradually warm up the eggs so you don't end up with an omelette instead of a sauce!
• Pour gradually the egg mixture back into the pot, whilst constantly stirring and bring just below boiling point. Remove the pan from the stove and serve.

LAHANODOLMADES: GREEK STYLE CABBAGE ROLLS WITH EGG LEMON SAUCE

Steps:

• Boil the cabbage in salted boiling water with the cored part facing down. Flip it around and boil an additional 10-15 minutes until the leaves begin releasing easily and have become somewhat translucent. They should not be overcooked to the point where they become soft and mushy.
• Pull the leaves out as they detach from the cabbage and set them in a colander to drain.
• When you peel off most of the leaves and you get to the core with the smaller leaves it will be difficult to remove the leaves without ripping them. At this point just remove the small bunch with the core attached and place in the colander. It will be easier to separate them once they are cooled. Most of these leaves will be too small to use for the cabbage rolls so they will be used as the bed or cover.
• Roughly chop the carrots and celery into large chunks and place them in the bottom of your pot. These will be the bed that the cabbage rolls will sit on so that they do not come in direct contact with the heat and cook more gently. This will prevent them from falling apart while simmering.
• Use some of the small and shredded pieces of cabbage to cover the vegetables.
• Place half of the onion in a food processor and pulse until it is finely chopped. Add the parsley and puree until smooth. Place this mixture in a large mixing bowl.
• ​Pulse the remaining half of the onion until finely chopped. Add the dill and puree until smooth. Place this mixture in the mixing bowl.
• ​Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, rice, olive oil, and water to the pureed​ ​herbs​ and onion and mix well to combine. The best way to do this is by hand. Break up the ground beef and add 1/4 cup more water if the mixture is not very moist.
• ​A very moist, wet filling will make the best tasting cabbage rolls.
• ​To assemble the cabbage rolls, take a cabbage leaf and lay it flat on your work surface. Cut of the thickest part of the stem. Place a full tablespoon of the filling in the center, fold the left and right sides of the leaf over the filling then roll it up.
• ​Continue the same process adjusting the amount of filling depending on the size of the cabbage leaves (smaller leaves get less filling). Keep in mind that when the filling is cooked, the rice will expand a bit. Roll them up tight but giving enough room for the rice to expand.
• ​Some leaves may be very large. You can cut those in half and use them to make 2 rolls.
• ​Layer the cabbage rolls in the pot fitting them snug together.
• ​Cover them with cabbage leaves.
• Place a plate over them inverted. This will keep them in place so that they do not fall apart while cooking.
• ​Pour enough water or chicken broth to come right up to the plate.
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes.
• ​Carefully remove the plate and the extra cabbage leaves from the pot.
• ​
• ​Combiner the egg yolks, cornstarch, and lemon juice in a bowl. Whisk well until smooth.
• Add some of the hot broth to the egg mixture. Whisk well.
• ​Season with some more salt and pour the egg-lemon​ mixture into the pot. Carefully shake the pot from side to side to distribute the egg-lemon​ sauce.
• ​Bring to a boil. Taste the seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Remove from heat and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. The sauce will thicken as it sits.
• ​Serve with some warm toasted bread.
• 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!

AVGOLEMONO SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Crack eggs in a bowl and whisk until frothy
• Continue beating and add 1 teaspoon flour (if using)
• Stop beating and add lemon juice
• Take 2 ladles worth of hot broth from whatever dish you're cooking and slowly pour into egg froth, mixing. This is important. Don't forget this or the eggs will curdle.
• Add back into your main dish and stir!
• You've now added Avgolemono to your meal :)

DOLMATHES

Steps:

• Put a pot that is large enough to hold the grape leaves over high heat. Add enough water to cover the leaves and bring to a boil. Add grape leaves and blanch for 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine: ground beef, rice, sea salt, pepper, onion, olive oil, and dill, mix well.
• Take a knife and cut off the stem of each grape leaf.
• Place about 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture at the bottom of each leaf (ribs up) and fold over the sides of the leaf to cover the mixture. Then roll upwards. Place into a deep pot in layers (should have about 2 layers depending on the size of your pot).
• Once all dolmathes are done, cover the tops of them with any broken grape leaves (if you have them).
• Add the chicken broth, cover dolmathes with a small plate or lid to keep them down and together. Turn heat to medium.
• Bring to simmer, cook on low for about 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
• Once cooked, prepare the avgolemono sauce.
• Beat eggs in a bowl for 5 minutes.
• Add lemon juice to the egg mixture and while still beating slowly pour in 1 cup of hot broth from the dolmathes pot into bowl with the eggs - this tempers them so they won't curdle.
• Now, pour egg mixture into pot with dolmathes and slowly mix everything together. Add salt and pepper if desired.
• Bring to simmer, cover, and remove from heat.
• Place a few dolmathes on a plate, pour some avgolemono sauce over them, and serve with lemon wedges!