Ingredients
60 fresh vine leaves
1/2 kilo ground beef
1 egg
2 cups (300 gr.) of rice (short grain rice)
2 big onions, finely chopped (cleaned in water)
½ cup of dill, finely chopped
½ cup of parsley, finely chopped
1/3 of dried mint
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Water or stock
Avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce)
2 eggs
Juice of two juicy lemons (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup of the water where the dolmades were boiled in
1 tablespoon of corn flour (cornstarch)
Instructions
Put the minced meat, rice, onion, parsley, dill, egg, mint, half the oil and salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
Wash the vine leaves thoroughly and then boil them for 5 minutes. Cool them in cold water and strain them.
Put a vine leaf on your hand with the smooth side down. For the filling, add about a tablespoon of the mixture near the stem. Don't forget to remove the stem and then fold and roll all the way. The result will be a cigar shaped roll. Squeeze it tightly but carefully so it does not break. Repeat this procedure for each grape leave.
Place the result of your hard labor in a saucepan starting from the edge moving towards the centre. More layers may be placed on top.
Add the remaining oil and water to cover the dolmades. Put a plate on top of the dolmades to make sure they can't move when they are boiling. Once they boil, lower the heat and cook the dolmades for 30 minutes.
It’s time to make the avgolemono sauce (egg-lemon sauce). Beat the eggs with a fork or a hand mixer and add the lemon juice. Then add the corn flour (starch) and mix until it has dissolved. While still beating the eggs pour water of the dolmades with a soup spoon, a little at a time (about a cup).
Let the dolmades cool for a while before you pour over the avgolemono sauce. When it’s time, pour all of the mixture in the pan and toss it around in such a way that the sauce reaches the bottom.
