Rolling and stuffing small morsels of meat/veggie fillings for a meal is second nature to us. We’re good at eating with our hands and using our favorite utensils (fingers!) to create tubular bundles of goodness. Between all of our weekly consumption of springrolls, dumplings and lettuce wraps, we pretty much had our fix of rolling, wrapping, and stuffing our faces till death do us part. It’s wasn’t until we’ve been hanging out at Peters blog-house (an awesome blog eating experience of Greek foods and beyond) a couple times a week that we realized we were still missing out on more rolls: home made dolmadakia’s – stuffed grape leaves of rice/meat combinations.
Oh yes, we’re master eaters of delicious dolmade rolls straight from the take-out counter at our local Greek deli and out of a can. Oops! Don’t they normally come out a can? 
But making them dolmades, or anything Greek for that matter, is very new for us. Thanks to Peter’s 
inspiring Greek nourishments over at Kalofagas, and Pixie’s 
grape leaves at You Say Tomayto I Say Tomato (she sent them from the UK!), we’re finally eating away from the can and venturing into unchartered territory.
So here we start, armed with Pixie’s vine leaves and Peter’s beef dolmades recipe, we’re raising our sails and floating into the Grecian culinary seas.
Peter’s very informative, easy to follow Dolomakia recipe provided us with some very, very delicious dolmades. These addicting rolls were even better with his accompanying avgolemeno sauce. This was the first time we’ve eaten dolmades with any “A” sauce of sorts and it provided such a bright, lemon infused freshness. Remember, when you’re making this rolls….don’t forget the avgolemeno sauce!! Don’t worry, it is easier to make than to pronounce.
Beef & Rice Dolmades
The vacuum packed package of vine leaves was a tight bundle of layered grape leaves. Once the dense goods were allowed to open, we had gazillions of grape leaves! So much that we prepared another batch of vegetarian dolmades, using the same recipe but replacing the beef with an all rice mixture.
Vegetarian Dolmades - using the same filling recipe, omit the beef and use a total of 1 cup of rice.
We were on a roll and couldn’t stop! Then we thought about some options for those who are unable to get a hold of grape leaves. The next possible wrap option that came to mind was using cabbage for the wrapper. Quickly blanching cabbage leaves provided another inspiration to make with the left over beef/rice mixture. These cabbage rolls are a great option if you can’t get to your local Greek/Mediterranean market for grape leaves.
Cabbage Rolls with Dolmade Filling -Using same filling recipe, just replace cabbage leaves for the grape (vine) leaves. Bring large pot of water to boil, add cabbage leaves. Cook for about 3 minutes or until tender. Remove from hot water and submerge in ice bath. Remove tough center stems and cut leaves into about 1″ strips. Roll meat mixture into 1 1/2″ rolls. Place on end of cabbage leaf strip closest to you and roll until meat is covered with at least 2 layers of cabbage leaves.
Thank You, Peter & Pixie for the delicious dolmade fun!
- Bo La Lot – A Vietnamese beef dish wrapped in wild betal leaves. Very similar to the style of dolmades, but with Viet flavors and style!
Are there other rolling and wrapping dishes that we’re missing out on?
Please, let us know because we’d love to add to our rollin’ repertoire!
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Fabulous! I’m so glad you enjoyed all those dolmades, you make them look so incredibly beautiful on the plate and fantastic idea with the cabbage as it can be difficult for most to get hold of the vine leaves. Bravo!
Hot damn…you knocked them out of the ball park. Congrats on your dolmades…you’ve made them better than many Greeks and the platings are Bon Appetit-ish!
As always, thank you so much for the mention.
These look great! What a fun thing for you to tackle. Thanks so much. I’m going to adapt this into a meatless version.
Try the dolmades with ground turkey instead of beef, and bump up the spices a bit. We did a taste test in a cooking class last year, and it turned out that people preferred the turkey filling — perhaps because it was a bit lighter and they could eat more dolmades!
Oh, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve had Greek food. Both versions of the Dolmadakia look divine! Eat a couple for me, k? And if there’s enough, maybe one for The Astronomer too
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When i read the title in my reader first thing i thought was peters recipe and then i came to your place and i read the post.
Looks really delicious.
The dolmades look wonderful. And I’m especially thankful that you included a recipe with the cabbage leaves.
As far as missing out on more rolling dishes, you could try lumpia;)
That is such a cool idea! I love things rolled too! Those pictures is really awesome too!
You forgot bo nuong la lot. I made that again last week but used fresh grape leaves instead since my uncle’s la lot aren’t quite green yet. It wasn’t as fragrant and the grape leaves made them taste like an Asian dolmades.
What great looking dolmades!! I haven’t had these in ages since my last visit to a Greek restaurant! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe
Rosie x
Ah, I was thinking of you both yesterday as I had some Vietnamese summer rolls. They were merely fine rather than the knock-your-socks-off version I first fell for, and couldn’t help thinking that you two would do a better job. I’m suddenly craving rolled and wrapped bits…
Pixie- Thanks for the awesome vine leaves! We’ve still got lots left and will be experimenting with more wrapped dishes!
Peter- Thanks for the great baked recipe. It was quite easy cooking them in the oven!
CookinginPanda- You can even try couscous and quinoa as a filling too! Have fun.
Lydia- Turkey? Will do just that! We’ve got plenty of grape leaves leftover.
Cathy – *Munching right now*. There! All eaten for the both of you!
Happy Cook – Yes, it is Kalofagas Peter’s great recipe!
Marvin- Lumpia has always been on our list, but there’s alot of pressure because our Filipina friends would have to double check everything we do!
Jessica- Rolling foods is alot of fun. Hope you give it a try.
WC- Thanks for the reminder. We just added the link!
Rosie- We usually have always eaten them in restaurants too, but after making them at home, we’re spoiled. Homemade ones taste awesome.
AnneMarie- Once you start eating rolled and wrapped foods, there’s no turning back!
Ok, you asked for other rolled and wrapped foods, so here comes:
You can find a recipe here: http://www.finfood.fi/tasteoffinland
kaalikääryleet or Finnish stuffed cabbage rolls.
Just click “recipes” then “main cource” and then you can find “Traditional stuffed cabbage rolls”.
Your dolmades look beautiful!
And I hope your Easter barbacue will be a great success!
Greetings,
Tiina
Oh my, this is just opening a whole can of worms. There’s too many variations!! Like umm, for the wrappers, lotus leaves (like the Chinese dim sum dish called lor mai gai… oh god, yummmm) ORRRRR do an Indo-twist and use banana leaves, ahhh!!! Orororororr, bamboo leaves! Yeah!!
My comment has too many !!!!! so I’m just gonna stop here.
Perfect entertaining food, they are great served hot, cold or room temperature. Wonderful way to spend quality time together in the kitchen.
These look great guys – well done!
Beautiful is getting over use here I’m sure but these are beautiful! I surprised myself making spring rolls. I’ve not tried dolma – not had them from a can though. I’m sure they’re better home made.
I can’t say that I love dolmades. Vine leaves give me headaches, as do coriander and mint in large amounts (am I alone in this?!). But those look nice. I’ll have a couple of cabbage rolls, please, thanks.
I am SO very glad you posted this! We’re heading into bud break, just a few weeks away from the first sprouting leaves on the vines, and I am going to VOW, right here, right now, that I am going to pick and preserve fresh grape leaves this year, darn it.
I’m going to try the stuffed cabbage. Your presentations are appetizing.
Great post. I would suggest looking up the Marionite Lebanese version of dolmades with allspice and lamb. (My daugther’s sitter makes them periodically, and next time, I will post the recipe.) And, then also the Indian Pathrode or Pathra made of rolled Colocaesia Leaves. I will look for a recipe and leave it here when I find it.
Nice dishes! I’ve done stuffed cabbage leaves before. It was an experiment when I was on the SB Diet. Never do that again!
Curious though, I’ve seen grape leaves in jars at WF. Would those work as well? How should I look for these guys and what is their taste like?
Russian quisine, too, boasts with dishes that feature stuffed cabbage. For example, one of such is called ‘golubzy’ (go-loob-tsi). If interested to sail off into far russian gastronomic lands, there is a link I chanced upon today and immediately thought of sharing with you and your readers: http://lakemagazine.com/recipes/recipedetail.asp?id=LKRID-123020035310-F8V3M
In short, love for good food is universal!
YUM! I have always wanted to try there – you have inspired us to think about venturing into Greek cooking!
Save me some of these — I’ll be right up!
I’ve made dolmades before. A tedious task, but oh my – what a reward when you’re done! And these look fantastic – super professional food styling!
What a nice project! You are very adventurous, i would have never thought of making stuffed grape leaves from scratch.
It looks great. Nice pictures too..oh heck.. Nice blog in general!!
Great job on the dolmades!
If you’re ever on the lookout for some more traditional Greek food recipes and specialties, please do drop by my Greek food blog, see: http://greekgourmand.blogspot.com/
Be Well,
Sam Sotiropoulos
That’s food blogger synergy in action for you! Those look great! I second Marvin– I hope lumpia’s in the cards! Anyway, you can’t mess it up even with peer pressure
I thought you’d pick the leaves off the vine yourself in Napa, heh heh
Sorry I didn’t get to see you guys during my trip! I didn’t even see a couple who could’ve been you! (Well, for all I know, I could have seen you guys individually, haha) Next time when I’m on my own I will take you up on your offer of a meal!
Why oh why am I looking at this on an empty belly?!?
So appetizing – gotta try the “A” sauce.
Hope you’ve had a Wonderful Easter time. I am impressed by your dolmades. They look wonderful. Since you’ve asked for more rolled recipes this is the Cypriot version of Dolmades, called koupepia which can also be rolled with silverbeat leaves. http://kopiaste.blogspot.com/2007/11/koupepia-stuffed-vine-leaves.html
One word: WANT.
Do you ship?
These look lovely. I made an Indian dish that called for rolling and stuffing
http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2007/08/patrodo.html
i hate cabbage, but those rolls are making me drool. these pics are poetry.
Mmmm! I have an Egyptian co-worker who’s written out her instructions for the grape leaf wraps. I’ve been a little afraid of making them as I will eat the whole batch!
One of my favorite wrap dishes is Spicy Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
Cut a chicken breast into small cubes, saute with a little OO and S&P until cooked through. Add 1/4 c hot pepper sauce (more or less to taste — 1/4 c makes it SPICY), 1/3 c honey, and 1/3 c lime juice and cook the chicken for 5-10 more minutes in the sauce. Serve spooned into butter lettuce leaves, topped with any or all of diced cucumber, carrot, celery, and blue cheese dressing.
Okay, you’ve got me on this one – looks fabulous and I’m definitely going to try it…I didn’t know that you could actually MAKE these – all this time I too thought the canned versions were “it!” By the way, you just can’t imagine how happy you made my mom with your tangerines!!! She literally SQUEALED with delight! I have a thank you on it’s way to you – hope you like it and thank you so very, very much for your generous gift!! xo, Nan
mmm, now I’m totally hankering for some Mediterranean food. I’ve wondered about grape leaves. I need to go look them up on Wikipedia cause I’m assuming it must be certain kinds of grape vines, right? Goodness knows I love me some fermented grapes!
I love the comments section note about turkey sausage~ i don’t do beef so I really appreciated the heads up on information. Thanks Lydia!
Ooh! I have always wanted to try my hand at these! I even have some vine leaves in my fridge waiting for me to get up the courage! I was based in Greece for a while and was seriously addicted to these little rolls
Yours look like perfection!
Thanks for the link to Peter’s blog…I fell in love with Greece (which is super easy to do!) when I was there and am always on the lookout for Greek-themed gastro-stuff that I can get recipes from
Yay!
Oh, and another vote for lumpia from me!
Your dolmades look really good! Great photos! I just tried making Peter’s dolmades and they turned out really good.
Looks tasty! Love making them but it is truly a labor of love, something to do as a team for sure! Well done!
Hey guys. I feel so different blogging to a person whose face I now know, j/k. yo moved me to decide to make Pathrado because I had a friend over who knew how to do it. We used Swiss Chard. It came out quite yummy. We went with 10 chilis and it was too spicy for me. Other recipes actually use up to 30 chillis, so go with how ever many you want.
I posted picts and recipe on my site. http://feedingmaybelle.blogspot.com/2008/03/soakng-swiss-chard.html
Oh these are all so fabulous! Stuffed cabbage is a throwback to my childhood with all the Polish/Lithuanian/Russian influences around…and now I have plenty of grape leaves around to play with. Yum.
Can I make the stuffed grape leaves one evening, stack and refrigerate overnight before cooking?
Thanks for a great recipe!
I’ve discovered your blog today and i am in love with the pictures and the posts.
I love your dolmades. I am Romanian and we usually stuff grape leaves with a meat mixture, the vegetarian version being made only during lent periods, before Easter and Christmas. They are served with sour cream, have some herbs added to the stuffing and tomato sauce in which they are cooked, which is so rich and tasty.
The stuffed sauerkraut rolls are one of our traditional dishes – we call them “sarmale” – and they are stuffed with a ground pork, rice, onion, summer savory mixture. They are layered with some bacon slices, smoked pork shanks and a couple of bay leaves in between, then braised slowly in some tomato juice and water, or just water, and cooked for a couple of hours (preferably in a large clay pot), until they are soo tender and the whole house smells amazing. They have to be served with polenta and some hot pickled peppers, and they cannot be missing from the Christmas table.
The vegetarian ones, typically have a mixture of rice, onion, carrots, mushrooms, and herbs, and they could be made either with grape leaves of cabbage. A picture will come soon on my blog, otherwise my ancestors will hunt me for years to come.
My 2 newest obessessions. Quinoa and dolmades. I first had dolmades in college (more years ago than I will admit). Now they’re like crack. I decided I needed to learn how to make them before I bankrupted my family. Then today, while finishing up some Quinoa, I thought, “hmmmm, I wonder…” Problem is, I don’t know how much to use. Quinoa is relatively new in my repetoire. If I were to make your recipe vegan style (so I can eat more and not look like a big fat Greek anything…) and use Quinoa in place of rice, how much Quinoa do you think I’d need?