Lahanodolmades
If your yiayia didn’t teach you how to make Lahanodolmades, don’t worry… I’m your yiayia now. 🤭💙
Tender cabbage leaves wrapped around a juicy pork and herb filling, gently simmered until meltingly soft before being finished with a silky homemade avgolemono sauce. Pure Greek comfort food at its finest. ✨
Ingredients
For the cabbage rolls
1 large sweetheart cabbage
500g pork mince (15% fat)
100g Arborio rice
1 medium white onion, minced or grated
50g fresh dill fronds, finely chopped
50g fresh parsley, finely chopped
60ml extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt (or salt to taste)
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
For cooking
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500ml chicken stock
For the Avgolemono
2 large eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
200ml hot cooking
1 hour and a half | Serves 4
Method
Prepare the cabbage. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the core from the cabbage. Lower the cabbage into the boiling water. As the outer leaves soften, gently peel them away using tongs and transfer them to a tray.Continue until you have around 12–15 large leaves.Trim away the thick part of the stem from each leaf so they’re easier to roll.
In a large bowl combine: pork mince, Arborio rice, grated onion, dill, parsley, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until evenly combined. Leave to rest for 15–20 minutes while you prepare the cabbage leaves.
Roll the Lahanodolmades. Lay one cabbage leaf flat. Place around 2 tablespoons of filling near the base. Fold the sides in, then roll up tightly to form a neat parcel. Repeat until all the filling has been used.
Arrange in the saucepan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the base of a large saucepan. Line the bottom with any spare cabbage leaves. Arrange the cabbage rolls snugly, seam-side down. Pour over the 500ml chicken stock. Place a heatproof plate upside down over the cabbage rolls to keep them submerged while cooking. Cover with a lid.
Bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 45–50 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the cabbage is beautifully soft.
Make the Avgolemono. Carefully ladle 200ml of the hot cooking stock into a jug. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice until smooth. Very slowly pour the hot stock into the egg mixture, whisking continuously to temper the eggs. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. Cook over a low heat, whisking constantly for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and lightly coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil, otherwise the eggs may curdle.
Arrange the Lahanodolmades on a serving platter. Generously spoon the warm avgolemono sauce over the top.Finish with: freshly cracked black pepper, optional chopped dill, a drizzle of good Greek extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.
