Starter Recipes > Dolmades

This recipe is part of the June 2009 Recipes Menu


Starter - Dolmades
Main Course - Shropshire Blue Cheese Flan
Dessert - Raspberry and Chocolate Dessert Cake

How to make Dolmades:
A classic Greek dish which can be served hot or cold and as a main course or a starter. Obtaining vine leaves can be difficult in this country but cabbage leaves do just as well.



Ingredients

Dolmades
1/2 pint good olive oil
4oz cooked rice
1lb onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 pint hot water
8oz minced meat
1 large tin of tomatoes
1 lemon
vine leaves
(see measure conversions for more information)

Method

- Fry the onions in half of the olive oil until they are soft.
- Add the rice.
- Cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the meat, tomatoes and mint.
- Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- Season well with salt and black pepper.
- Blanche the vine leaves in boiling water for 3 minutes.
- Drain in a colander.
- Put the leaves onto a clean surface, vein side uppermost.
- Put a teaspoonful of the mixture in the centre of a leaf.
- Fold both sides of the leaf inwards.
- Roll up the leaf to enclose the filling loosely.
- Put the Dolmades into an ovenproof dish lined with foil.
- Sprinkle with lemon juice.
- Pour over the cup of hot water.
- Cover with foil.
- Cook at 170 degrees C. for about 1 hour.
- Serve hot or cold.


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Land For Food Production

Sat May 15, 2010 9:18 pm // 8 comments // granny_nuts


I wonder just how much land it would take to feed a family of, say, 4? I know that if my family didn't buy fruit and veg we wouldn't have enough to eat but is self sufficiency down to amount of land or method of growing? Last year I overcrowded my small veg plot with counter-productive results like mildew and snail infestation that went unnoticed until we came to pick the tomatoes (all holes!). I wonder if anyone has ever been totally self providing or whether the local market and barter played...