It was a project which took the better part of a hot, sunny morning (I did prune back the grape vines at the same time as I harvested my grape leaves) but finding unblemished leaves free of bird poop and beetle chomps was a task, as was finding the correct sized leaves. My web friends advised picking leaves where the center portion was about the same size as one's palm. If you harvest leaves from a friend or public spot, do be sure to inquire if the leaves are also pesticide-free.
I followed Kalofagas' instructions, but used 6 quart-sized canning jars as I wasn't sure what "medium" Mason jars were and found I needed to prepare 50% more hot brine to fill my jars. A couple of my jars didn't seal so I tucked them into the refrigerator since I wanted to make a couple of batches of dolmades within the week. I also liked his recipe for baking the dolmades rather than trying my hand at sauteeing them (less opportunity for stuffing leakage) so that was my course of action.
I made one batch of Kalofagas recipe with sauteed ground beef (I'll bet ground lamb would be amazing too) and one batch without meat. Both came out of the oven perfectly tender and delectable, although they were a little more salty than I prefer, so I would leave out seasoning the filling with additional salt next time. We liked them so much that I plan to cook up another batch and trot them out this weekend when we have guests.
Having these jars of brined leaves in the pantry seems so luxurious now. I can whip up a batch of dolmades easily if I have leftover cooked rice and then throw them in the oven for an hour to steam away. Thank you Foodycat and Kalofagas for such tempting and easy to follow culinary advice!
This adventure in harvesting, preserving and cooking with wild grape leaves is being sent in to Weekend Herb Blogging #190, which is being hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. I'm sure Laurie is familiar with stuffed grape leaves but they were a new and exciting exploration for me. Weekend Herb Blogging is a weekly blog event that highlights fruits, vegetables and herbs and is permanently headquartered at Cook (Almost) Anything At Least Once. I always learn something new and usually bookmark a few more recipes to try with WHB, so be sure to check out the roundup after the Sunday deadline.
10 comments:
Very cool instructions on how to make dolmades. It looks like work, but also a lot of fun!
Rachel, I'm delighted that you found some grape leaves to preserve and make Dolmades with! It's going to hard to go back to store-bought ones isn't it?
As for requiring 50% more brining liquid...that would depend on how many rolls of leaves you fitted into each jar. The more leaves in the jar, the less liquid.
As for the salty issue, that would depend on how briny your leaves are. Simply soak them in water for about 10 minutes to draw some salt out before cooking.
It could also be you simply like less salt.
Thank you for linking and do enjoy your Dolmades...they are so much better with your own leaves.
Wow, Rachel, I am very impressed! I love dolmades and yes, they are expensive. I have no grape leaves about--the deer or turkey or woodchucks would probably eat them if I did--but they look like a lot of work, so guess I'll stick to buying mine. Great post.
well done on this lovely greek favorite - i prefer the vegetarian version personally, and i made a batch (oven-cooked) only yesterday!
You're very very lucky! I watched a Martha episode where they whipped up a batch of dolmades and am itching to try them myself but I can't get decent leaves.
@Mediterranean Kiwi: How do you make them vegetarian? I've been trying to make my veg versions of my fave foods for health reasons. Thanks!
Rachel, those dolmades are lovely! I've never made them before, but I love the idea of brining your own grape leaves. Your company will be so impressed.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone. It was much easier than I thought, and the results were very delectable. I like them even better cold the next day.
Soma: Peter's Kalofagas website has very detailed instructions for both brining the leaves and for preparing them as dolmades. I just left out the ground meat in my vegetarian dolmades and the rice-tomato-dill-mint filling was very tasty. Peter even has links to other dolmades recipes on his blog, so just click on the link in my post to see his terrific dolmades instructions. Good luck in the kitchen!
This is quite impressive! I can't wait to see the actual dolmades you make.
I love dolmades and it must be wonderful to have your own leaves to make them with. What a great project!
I'm impressed that you brined yours! I am going to harvest my leaves now.
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