“Our dolmades are a bit more substantial than most Greek dolmades. They’re bigger and we use silverbeet to wrap them instead of vine leaves,” says Gloftis. Serve these hearty dolmades with tzatziki for a real Greek feast.
While a little fiddly, these dolmades are well worth the effort: filled with a hearty mixture of veal and rice and wrapped with a sliverbeet leaf, it’s hard to just stop at one or two.
Ingredients
Method
1.Place a large heavy-based saucepan with 80ml oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and speck and cook, stirring occasionally until onion has softened and has no colour (4-5 minutes). Add rice and stir until coated in oil (1-2 minute). Stir in 200ml stock and 50ml lemon juice and cook stirring until liquid is absorbed (6-8 minutes) the rice will be par-cooked at this point. Stir in herbs and transfer to a large oven tray and spread out; refrigerate to cool completely.
2.Meanwhile, bring a saucepan three-quarters full of water to the boil. Blanch silverbeet leaves, in 3 batches, until just wilted (30 seconds); refresh in iced water, then drain and pat dry. Cut out centre white stalk from each leaf leaving only green leaf.
3.To roll dolmades, remove rice mixture from fridge and transfer to a large bowl. Add paprika, 2 tsp sea salt flakes and 1 tsp cracked black pepper along with raw mince; mix until combined. Roll mixture into 40gm balls and place on lined oven trays. Makes 38 balls. Working with one silverbeet leaf at a time, place a leaf on a work surface then place a ball in the centre; fold in sides and roll firmly to enclose. Repeat.
4.To cook dolmades, line base of a large saucepan (40cm-diameter) with extra leaves and tightly pack dolmades into saucepan in a single layer; add remaining stock, lemon juice and oil then weight down with a heatproof plate. Bring to the boil, then simmer over low heat until rice is cooked (40-45 minutes). Transfer dolmades to a shallow dish, drizzle with extra olive oil and cool slightly.
5.To serve, transfer dolmades onto a platter, drizzle with extra oil and serve with tzatziki on the side.
