Greek Stuffed Cabbage (Lahanodolmades)
A wonderful Greek recipe which is deliciously simple. Rice, beef, and fresh herbs wrapped in cabbage leaves and smothered in a zingy lemon sauce.
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Servings: rolls
Equipment
- large tagine or casserole dish
Ingredients
Cabbage Rolls
- 1 medium fresh green/white cabbage
- 125 g medium or short grain rice
- 250 g lean ground beef or pork
- 2 small onions one grated, one roughly chopped
- 2 spring onions finely sliced
- 1 small carrot very finely grated
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp pine nuts* lightly toasted optional
- pinch cinammon and cumin
- ⅓ cup finely minced, in equal quantities, fresh mint, parsly and dill Reserve the stems of the herbs
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp salt
- approx 3 tbsp olive oil
- 500 - 800 ml chicken or vegetable stock
- freshly ground pepper
Avgolemono Sauce (Lemon Sauce)
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 medium lemons
Instructions
The Rolls
- De-core the cabbage and then boil it in plenty of salted water with the stalk (core) down. As soon as the leaves start to lift, remove them from the water and gently lift them off with a pair of tongs. Leave it to cool, then remove any of the centre's thicker stems.
- Add the onions, half the garlic, and herbs and saute in a scant tablespoon of olive oil with the grated carrot; toss in the rice with a generous pinch of cinnamon and cumin and let it cook gently for a few minutes.
- Remove from the heat, and mix in the ground meat, lemon zest and pine nuts (if using) - season with freshly ground pepper and pinch of salt. Add one up to ¼ cup of olive oil and mix well. Depending on how much oil you use to saute the onions, you may not need all the oil. You want a sticky-ish mixture!
- Lay out the medium-sized cabbage leaves and place a generous tablespoon of the meat mixture at the stem end of the leaf. Roll once firmly but with space for the rice to expand. Fold in each side and finish the roll. Trim any excess leaf.
- Keep making rolls until you have completed all the rice/meat mixture. Cover with cling film, and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Put a couple of the unused cabbage leaves on the bottom of the tagine together with the roughly chopped onion, the rest of the garlic and the herb stems.
- Arrange the rolls (snuggly and fold side down) on the cabbage leaves. Season with black pepper and ½ tsp salt. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and half the stock - just over 3/4 of the way up the sides of the rolls.
- Braise over a very low heat for about 30 - 40 minutes. The meat will be cooked, but make sure the rice is nice and plump.
To Serve and Avgolemono Sauce (Lemon Sauce)
- When you are ready to serve, remove the rolls from the pot, cover them, and arrange them on a warmed serving plate. Remove the cabbage leaves and onions from the pot and discard.
- Add a little more stock or water to the pot if it has all been absorbed by the cabbage rolls. You need about 150-200ml. Warm through.
- Beat both the eggs with the lemon juice in a small jug.
- Temper the eggs by adding a tablespoon of the warm stock from the pot to the egg mixture and whisk. Add a second tablespoon of stock and whisk; add the egg mixture back to the pot set over very low heat - stir until the sauce thickens. Add a sprinkling of cornflour if you want a thicker sauce.
- Pour the sauce over the rolls and garnish with dill and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh dill.
Notes
If you have opted for minced pork, add a couple of tablespoons of dried raisins or currants. A good complement to the pork.