| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 50 minutes |
| Servings |
4
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- 60 beetroot leaves
- 1 litre water boiling
- 1 cup rice long grain, yellow, parboiled
- 4 scallions finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup mint leaves finely chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil Greek extra virgin
- 2 cups water lukewarm, for the rice
- 1 lemon freshly squeezed
Ingredients
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|
- Rinse 2 large bunches of beetroot (about 2kg beetroot). Chop off the stalks and leaves (leaving around 1cm of stalk attached) and dry them thoroughly. Set the beetroots and stalks aside. Pile up the fresh and tender leaves.
- Place the clean leaves into a heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling water to wilt them. Drain the piles carefully and leave to cool.
- In a large, deep skillet sauté the chopped scallions with some lukewarm water over medium heat for 3' until they are very soft.
- Pour 1 cup of lukewarm water. Add the rice and sauté over medium heat. Stir quite frequently.
- Add salt, ground black pepper, finely chopped mint leaves and stir to mix. Pour the olive oil and immediately remove from heat. The rice should be undercooked and all the water absorbed.
- Grease a casserole dish with 2tbs olive oil.
- Place one leaf at a time on a work surface or a dish, shiny side down. If a leaf is too small about 6-7cm or is torn do not throw it away, just lay one leaf flat in the middle and on top of the other in order to create an average leaf which is about 12cm long and broad. Add a teaspoon of filling in the center of each leaf, then fold the left and right sides over the filling. Fold the tip of the leaf over the filling, then roll tightly to make a cigar shape.
- Place the roll, seam side down, in the casserole dish. Place the dolmades tightly together to prevent them from floating up and unwrapping during cooking. Nestle them into the casserole dish in concentric circles, working from the outer edge toward the center.
- Make a second tight layer directly on top of the first with the remaining stuffed leaves. If needed, make a third layer. When the dish is full, place a large heatproof plate you on top of the dolmades; this will act as a weight to keep the stuffed beet leaves submerged. 27 dolmades were made using 60 beetroot leaves (different sizes, a few torn).
- Dissolve 1/2tsp salt into 1 cup lukewarm water. Pour into the casserole dish. Cook over low-medium heat for 20' until the rice is fully cooked.
- Remove from heat. Remove the plate. Squeeze 1/2 lemon and let cool to room temperature. Do not take out the dolmades until cool. Serve with extra lemon juice and lemon slices.
Boil the beets on medium heat for 45' until they can be easily pierced through with a knife. Boil the stalks that we tend to throw away, though they are are completely edible and naturally sweet but not as sweet as the beets, separately for about 2'-3' until tender. Slice the beets into wedges, chop the stalks and pour over them a simple vinaigrette made with 3tbs olive oil, 1tbs vinegar and 1 minced garlic clove. By using the beetroot leaves to recreate my beetroot leaves dolmades recipe and by using the beets and stalks to make a simple salad, you do not throw anything away and reduce food waste.
Refrigerate 1 to 2 days. Since it is generally considered better not to reheat cooked rice, this dish is absolutely prefect because dolmades are served cold. Dolmades taste better cold, as a cold appetizer or a main dish or a traditional Greek mezze.
During the pre preparation of food, we should pile up the leaves carefully, in order to protect the leaves from tearing when they wilt.
This recipe is easy and very very forgiving because even if the stuffed leaves shaped into rolls are not perfect or identical, after cooking placed tight into the dish, they all look the same!
2tbs dried mint can be used instead of 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves.
I got a little mixed up on how much water to use overall, and only used 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead of 1/2 tablespoon. SO GOOD!!!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!