Dolmades - With foraged ingredients
This recipe is my way of reminding myself of summer holidays whist in a very sunny Surrey during Lockdown.
Servings 4 As a starter
Cost £1
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 2 cups Water
- 2 Large fistfuls Water Mint (or any other mint) chopped finely
- 1 Large fistful Wild Marjoram or Oregano chopped finely
- 1 Handful Wild Fennel chopped finely, I’m not a big fan of the fennel flavour - add more if you like it
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 Tomatoes chopped
- 50-100 grams Lamb mince - optional
- 50 Lime leaves (Tilia sp.) look for large bright ones without any nibble marks on them
- 1 large Onion chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic - if you have wild garlic preserved this would be a good time to use it. crushed
Instructions
- Blanch the lime leaves in boiling water - quickly remove them and put into cold water.
- Quickly fry the lamb mince off if you are using it, in olive oil.
- Add more oil and sauté the onions and garlic too.
- Add the rice and the rest of the oil and fry on a gentle heat for a few minutes.
- Add a cup of water and simmer till its absorbed.
- Take off the heat.
- Stir in the cut herbs and chopped tomato. You can’t really overdo the herbs. I went for minimal fennel as I am not a big fan of the wild fennel flavour. If you like it add more.
- Now it is time to start rolling the domladas.
- Strain the lime leaves and dry them - I used a salad spinner.
- Lay one leaf out on a chopping board in front of you with stem facing towards you, tip away from you.
- Chop off the stem.
- Place one teaspoon of the mix in bottom 1/3 in the centre of the leaf.
- Fold in the sides, being careful to keep them parallel or folding tighter in towards the tip of the leaf.
- Roll up the bottom, keeping an eye on those sides not spreading out, and the mix staying in the roll.
- If you have added too much mix, you’ll know now, and just scrape it away.
- Continue to roll until you have run out of leaf.
- Pick up gently and put into a small pan with a tight fitting lid that can go in the oven.
- Continue this process with the rest of the leaves. Tightly packing them into the pan. If you finish one layer just lay another layer over the top.
- You will likely have some mix left over - store this in the fridge to make some more in a few days or stuff a pepper as well and put this in the pan too.
- Pour the second cup of water into the pan. Add a dash of oil for good measure.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid.
- Place in the oven at approx 160deg. Check on it in 30 minutes and see how the rice is doing. (I expect there will be a few escapees, and if not open up one parcel.) Remove from the oven when the rice is cooked, and leave to cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature with a minty yoghurt sauce.
