Greek Dolmades with Avgolemono Sauce
There are certain dishes that become your favorites right from the start. When I was 19 years old, I worked for a record release event with many well-known Québécois celebrities such as Diane Tell, Robert Charlebois and Daniel Lavoie among the guests. I was the hostess greeting them upon their arrival. If you asked me who’s record release it was, I couldn’t answer that as it’s been so long but there are a few things I still remember such as the location of the event and one dish that I fell in love with that night.
The event took place in a club on Prince Arthur Street in downtown Montréal. Now for those of you not familiar with that particular street, Prince Arthur has a small stretch between Square St Louis just off St Denis Street to St Laurent Street that is dedicated to pedestrians. Also there are many restaurants with outdoor patios, cafés and bars. When it comes to restaurants, Prince Arthur was and still is locally renowned for its Greek restaurants and BYOW “Bring your own Wine” service. Let’s not forget that we are talking back in the early 80s’ and the BYOW was not really legal at that time… really!
After the event was over, the employees were allowed to eat what was left from the buffet and seriously, it looked like it was barely touched. Obviously because of its location, the buffet was mostly Greek food with a few exceptions. Although I’ve dined at many restaurants on that street, there were certain dishes I’ve never tried. That night I went out of my “Greek” comfort zone and tried everything I had never tried till then. This is when Greek Dolmades became one of my favorites!
A few years later, I moved to Windsor, Ontario. One of the things I liked to do with my friends was to go out for dinner to Greektown located right downtown in Detroit, Michigan. Most of the restaurants had belly dancers and live music. It was a fun place to go! Of course the first time that I went to one of the Greektown restaurants and saw Greek Dolmades, I ordered it without an ounce of hesitation. What a surprise when my appetizer arrived – it wasn’t served with a yogurt sauce but an egg-sauce called Avgolemono. WOW! was my reaction after my first bite. Ever since then, I have to eat my Dolmades with that sauce.
As you will see in the video, making Greek Dolmades, also known as Stuffed Grape Leaves, is very easy but laborious. My advice is to wear comfortable shoes or flip flops, play your favorite music and you’ll see how fast time goes by. It’s a big batch to make – about 50 of them – but on the other hand, you can always freeze them and enjoy those little guys weeks later. I won’t recommend doing the same with the sauce… c’mon, it’s an egg based sauce! Another plus to this dish is you can eat it hot, warm or cold so it’s the perfect appetizer to serve all year round.
Bon Appétit!
Here are more delicious Greek inspired recipes for you to enjoy…
– Greek Salad
– Avgolemono Chicken Soup
– Prawn Saganaki
– Greek Ouzo Pork Kebabs
– Spanakopita
– Greek Pizza
– Chocolate Frozen Greek Yogurt
and for even more great appetizer recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Appetizers
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Greek Dolmades with Avgolemono Sauce
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Ingredients
STUFFING
- 50 medium grape leaves, such as California or Turkish grape leaves
- 1 lb. ground lamb
- 1 1/4 cups white onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup Arborio rice
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped tips & tricks
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley, plus more for garnish tips & tricks
- 1 tsp. ground Himalayan sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle tips & tricks
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 4 cups hot chicken broth
AVGOLEMONO SAUCE
- 1 cup reserved chicken broth Footnote
- 2 large free-run eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice tips & tricks
- 1 small pinch ground Himalayan sea salt
- 1 small pinch white pepper
Directions
DOLMADES
- Separate leaves and soak them in cold water for 10-15 minutes.
- Drain the leaves in a colander.
- Place the rougher side of the leaf facing up on a plate and if there’s a stem, tear it off and discard it.
- Stuffing one at a time, scoop about ½ tbsp. lamb mixture, rolling it in the palm of the hand. Place it right at the base of the leaf. Take one side and fold it over the mixture and then fold the other loose end over top; repeat on the other side. Roll up firmly (not too tight or not too loose, folding it in if necessary), to the end forming a cylinder shape. Repeat until the lamb mixture is all gone.
- Cover the bottom of a tall pot with broken or partial leaves that weren’t used. Place dolmades starting from the outside and working our way in (don’t squeeze, just snuggle). Stack another layer on top if needed. Drizzle the dolmades with olive oil (about 1 ½ tbsp.) and lemon juice.
- Place a plate or a smaller lid that fits inside the pot, touching the top layer of the dolmades, and pour in hot chicken broth (*see footnote).
- Turn the heat to medium-high and bring it to where it just starts to simmer and bubbles appear on the outside edge. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover and cook for 1 hour.
- After the cooking time is over, carefully remove the lid (or plate) inside the pot. Check if the dolmades are cooked when a fork inserted slides in easily. If not, cook them for another 10 minutes with the lid of the pot on (no inside lid or plate).
SAUCE
- Use 1 cup of chicken broth from the pot where the dolmades cooked and pour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat to keep it warm.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Slowly pour in lemon juice whisking constantly and continue whisking until airy and frothy.
- Temper the eggs by adding very slowly the hot broth, a little at a time, whisking constantly and vigorously.
- When the broth is almost all used up, pour the egg mixture into the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens.
- Spoon avgolemono sauce over dolmades and sprinkle parsley on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
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