Lahanodolmades me Avgolemono are cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice, then drizzled in an egg-lemon sauce. This rustic Greek dish is especially popular during winter, as it’s guaranteed to warm you up!
Ingredients
- 1 x kilo beef mince (or mince meat of your choice)
- 1 x large green cabbage
- 1 x large Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 2 x eggs
- 1/2 x cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 x cup rice
- 1/4 x cup olive oil, extra for drizzling
- 2 x cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 x lemons, juiced
Method
-Start by preparing the cabbage. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage and cut off stem. Place in a large, deep pot with water and bring to the boil. Blanch cabbage until soft. Set aside and allow to cool. When cool, open up each leaf and set aside.
– In the meantime, place mince, rice, onion, parsley and olive oil in a large bowl and mix with hands until all ingredients are well combined. Add salt and pepper, mix again and set aside.
– Layer the bottom of a large pot with the removed thick leaves of the cabbage.
– One by one, begin making your dolmades by taking about one tablespoon of the mince mixture and placing it on the cabbage leaf, towards the stalk end of the leaf. Firmly roll the stalk end over the mixture, then tuck in the sides and roll up completely.
– Place each dolmada into a large casserole dish. Repeat this process until you have used up all the mince mixture and ensure you place dolmades close together in layers, so they don’t unravel while cooking.
– Season with salt and pepper and add 2 x cups water and drizzle with olive oil.
– Place a plate on top of the dolmades to weigh them down and cover with lid.
– Cook on medium heat for about an hour or until mince and rice is cooked all the way through and set aside with lid still on.
– At this stage you make your avgolemono (egg lemon sauce) by whisking 2 eggs with lemon juice. Take some of the broth from the casserole and mix it in, continue whisking for a couple of minutes.
– Pour the avgolemono mixture into the pot. Carefully shake the pot from side to side to distribute the egg-lemon sauce. Bring to a boil and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.
*Recipe and images by IN+SIGHTS GREECE
