oh the weather is getting warmer, and the grapevine out the front is thickening out with new young leaves every day! this can only mean one thing… dolmades!
Pick leaves early in their growth period, that is early summer, when vines are covered with leaves.
Choose leaves of medium light colour, not too young. If vines have been sprayed, wait for period recommended for general harvest by manufacturer of insecticide. When picking, snip off stem.
Wash leaves and stack in piles of 24, with shiny side up.
Roll up and tie with string.
Bring 8 cups water to the boil with 1/4 cup salt.
Drop in 4 bundles at a time, return to the boil and blanch for 3 minutes, turning rolls over to blanch evenly.
Lift out and drain. Repeat with remaining rolls.
Make a brine with 8 cups water boiled with 1 cup rock salt.
Pack rolls upright into warm sterilized jars and pour hot brine over leaves.
Remove air bubbles and seal when cold. Brine is sufficient for 20 bundles of leaves. Increase accordingly to quantity being preserved. Mallos. Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
but if you are making dolmades immediately do you need to preserve the leaves in brine? the bundling with string does sound very endearing though. perhaps I will go a-hunting soon when the leaves get bigger…. xx
Comment by esther — October 11, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
this is not about dolmades.
i am farm blogging. there may be recipes at some point, should our harvest be bountiful. Do you have a recipe for mulberry leaves (i gorge myself on the berries in the morning, that is my recipe for the berries…) perhhaps… they are a delicacy to the calves, and it helps to expel internal parasites. anyway, check out (maybe you could sidebar me???) mybigbackyard.blogsome.com xx
Comment by t0xxx — October 11, 2007 @ 9:53 pm
yep! that’s why i haven’t posted a recipe for dolmades, just the leaves, because it would be nice to have a shining row of leaf bundles in jars on the kitchen bench while i search for spectacular dolma recipes. and i have quite a collection of recipes that i keep meaning to make, and only occasionally get close to.
farm blogging! wow, it all looks very intense on the farm. what an awesome blog. i know so many people who will love your mybigbackyard, indeed, into the sidebar you shall go! i will endeavour to find you some mulberry leaf recipes, although my current knowledge is limited to their suitability in kids’ lunchbox homes for pet silkworms.
big love to you all! xxoo
Comment by gaylourdes — October 12, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
dolma bundles! yum.
the best dolmades i’ve ever had come from a stall at the vic market, they’re incredibly creamy and come in a tomato-ey sauce like cabbage rolls. i’ll have to hassle the stall-owner for some tips…
Comment by az — October 12, 2007 @ 3:04 pm
mmm, i know those dolmades. *nom nom nom*
thanks for the recipe, gl!
Comment by nix — October 12, 2007 @ 6:47 pm
ms liz, gl, performance queen, contemplative conceptual sculptor! Thank you for side-barring me. I know the whole farm thing is kind of *niche* but there’s something for everyone… and after all, i’m just performing “farmer”, am maybe grrl becoming farmer becoming agri/culture itself… or something. yeh, anyway, silkworms are fascinating, and i guess yummy, for cows and silkworms. I’m sure there’s a delicate and unusual recipe for them somewhere. xx
Comment by t0xxx — October 12, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
ps. i meant that the mulberry leaves were delicious, not the silkworms!
Comment by t0xxx — October 13, 2007 @ 7:11 am
actually, t0xx, funny you should say that… if you follow here some people have done some research about eating silkworms in space… what a niche, lorraine!
and back on the dolmade front… i totally agree with the tomato flavoured filling: the best ones in newtown are from saray’s who send a good kick of chilli right through them. but they’re a bit hit and miss. sometimes they’re frozen, and other times they’re dried out. i should really devote some time to discovering the optimum window period for dolma purchasing. or, to return to that other idea i had…make my own.
Comment by gaylourdes — October 18, 2007 @ 10:55 pm