These refreshing rolled vine leaves stuffed with
minced lamb, onions, rice, herbs and seasonings are simmered until tender and
delicious.
‘Dolma’ means stuffed vegetables and although grape
vine leaves are most popular in Albanian you can also stuff any form of
Greens (Cabbage is most popular), Onions, Peppers, Aubergines,
Squash, Tomatoes, and Courgettes.
Making this traditional Albanian recipe out of
season, vine leaves are often needed to be brought from Mediterranean food shops,
so as a replacement you can try cabbage leaves – they are just as tasty. Make
sure you let the whole cabbage sit in boiling water for about 10 minutes
before gently peeling back the leaves so they don’t break.
You can also boil stuffed leaves in a tomato based
sauce too and cabbage leaves work best for this.
Ingredients
·
600 g Pickled Grape Leaves
·
400 g Lamb Mince
·
5 Diced Onions
·
75 g Rice
·
1 tsp Pepper
·
1 tsp Paprika
·
1 tsp Dried Vegetable Stock
·
25 g Chopped Parsley
·
1 Tsp Basil
·
Olive Oil
·
Optional Salt
·
2 Liters Boiling Water
Instructions:
Preparation:
Add the onions to a sauté pan and fry for 5 minutes
in olive oil until the onions start to brown.
Turn off the heat and add the meat, rice, pepper,
paprika, vegetable stock, parsley and basil. Mix all the ingredients together.
Carefully unwrap the vine leaves. Place one vine leaf
on your hand with the base on the bottom of your palm and the point pointing
towards the top. Add a second vine leaf with the point pointing downwards and
base of the leaf at the top of your fingers. there should be a good overlap.
You can do this on a flat surface if preferred.
Place a spoonful of the meat and rice mixture in the
middle of the leaves. Fold the bottom of the leaf over the mixture, fold in
both sides and the roll the leaf upwards sealing in the mixture into a parcel
shape.
Layer a layer of vine leaves covering the bottom of a
deep saucepan and then add the vine leaf parcel on top.
Make as many vine leaf parcels as the meat and rice
mixture will make adding each one to the saucepan. Pack the parcels side by
side util the saucepan is covered, then start another layer on top.
Cooking:
Pour into the saucepan enough boiling water to just
cover the top of the vine leaves and bring to a boil. Leave to simmer with a
lid on for 1.5 hours. All water should be absorbed however top up with a little
extra boiling water if this happens before the time is up.
Serving:
Remove from the saucepan and leave to cool for 10
minutes before serving.
Nutritional
information:
-
Calories 79
-
Sugar 3g
-
Sat Fat 1.6g
-
Fat 5.2g
-
Protein 2.8g
-
Carbs 5.5g
-
Serving 1/32
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