Stuffed Vine Leaves Avgolemono



Vine leaves stuffed with minced meat and covered with avgolemono (egg-lemon sauce).
Small, unique in flavor and simplicity. The sour, velvety, egg and lemon sauce, the predominantly Greek Sauce, enhances the flavor.
Served as a starter to a formal table or as a main course for our daily dinner.
Try it!
work: 1h:00′ time: 1h:30′ medium: 3/5
Stuffed Vine Leaves Avgolemono
Try to make them!
If you haven't ever make stuffed vine leaves, this is your chance to try them with this recipe, which is much easier, faster and simpler than the vine leaves stuffed with rice.
The analysis step by step will help you to try this unique dish, made ​​from your own hands!

Ingredients (∼50 pieces)

Filling

  • 200g/ 7.1 oz fresh vine leaves
  • 500g/ 1.1 lbs minced meat
  • 60g/ 2.1 oz rice
  • 3 Tbsp finelly chopped dill
  • 2 onions finelly chopped
  • 70ml/ 2.4 floz olive oil
  • salt & pepper
In large bowl mix the mince meat, rice, onions, dill, half the olive oil, salt and pepper.
If the filling is firm add half a glass of water to soften.
Knead lightly and leave aside for a while to mix the flavors and aromas.
Wash and separate the leaves into two stacks. Blanch them passing through boiling water per stack for 1 min. Drain.
Take a vine leaf, place it on a plate with the side with the fibers upwards.
Put a teaspoon of filling on the edge of the sheet.
Cover the filling by lifting the bottom edge of the sheet and then the right and left side.
Roll the stuffed vine leave winding upward to the stem…
…until completely wrapped.
Wil be placed in a pot with the union down.
At the bottom of a cast iron pot (or any heavy pot) spread a few large leaves. On the spread leaves put one by one the stuffed vine leaves, as you wrap them.
You can put them close together because they do not contain much rice, so they will not swell that much.
Once the first layer is filled, continue with more layers the same way, until you run out of ingredients.
Salt them lightly, add the remaining half of the oil and cover with a shallow dish.
Pour hot water to the edges of the dish.
Cook over low heat for 30 minutes making sure at the end, you have left with a little sauce that you will need later.

Egg-lemon sauce (avgolemono)

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 lemon, large juice
  • 2 Tbsp (sharp) corn flour
  • 400ml/ 13.5 floz broth & water
Place a saucepan over low heat and pour in the broth left over from cooking the stuffed vine leaves (dolmades).
Add enough water to 400ml/ 13.5 floz. In broth, as it is still cold, dilute the cornflour stirring.
In a bowl beat the yolks with the lemon juice. In the yolk mixture add slowly, stirring constantly, the hot broth to equalize the ingredient's temperature.
Pour the yolk mix back into the saucepan and stir to mix the sauce ingredients, on low heat for 1'-2' taking care not to boil.
The egg and lemon sauce (avgolemono) is ready! Serve on the stuffed vine leaves (dolmades).
To make sure that the sauce is smooth and without lumps, pass it through a sieve before serving.
If using canned leaves, ommit the blanching stage.
The best season for fresh leaves is the beginning of summer. The leaves of the variety "Sultanas" are best. Thin and light coloured.

Author:Zambia G. Sifaki