Lamb Dolmades: Lamb and Rice Stuffed Grape Leaves

ντολμάδες με αρνάκι και ρύζι
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Makes 50-60 dolmades:
​16 ounces grape leaves from a jar, rinsed, drained, and stems removed
3/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds ground lamb (or 1 pound ground lamb plus 1 pound ground beef)
1 cup rice, uncooked
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
16 ounces water or chicken broth
​2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
​1 teaspoon salt
​freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly lemon juice

​In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, salt, pepper, herbs and mix well. Add the rice and mix until well combined.
Rinse and dry the grape leaves. Cut the hard stem from each leaf. Reserve the smallest and the torn leaves to lay on bottom of pot.
Lay a grape leaf shiny side down and place a tablespoon of rice filling on the bottom end of the leaf, near the stem.
​Fold the stem end of leaf over the filling. Fold the sides over and roll up snugly but not too tight. The rice will expand while cooking.
Repeat with all of the remaining grape leaves until your filling is done.
Layer half of the small and torn grape leaves to create a bed for the dolmades in a pot.
​Place the dolmades seam side down and very close together over the bed of leaves. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Pour the olive oil and lemon juice over the dolmades.
​Place the remaining reserved small leaves over the dolmades.
Pour the water or chicken stock over the dolmades dolmades.
​Place an inverted plate over the dolmades to weigh them down and to prevent them from moving around and opening while cooking.
Cover with lid and bring to a boil.
Reduce to simmer and cook about 40-60 minutes or until the rice is tender.
There will still be some liquid in the pot. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes and the juices will be absorbed.
​Plate and drizzle some olive oil over them. Serve with delicious tzatziki sauce.
​Enjoy!


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[lemontree]

My favorite way is to lay them in a large casserole dish, cover with a jar of tomato sauce, refill jar with water or
broth and add that into the casserole dish too, cover and bake for an hour or even a bit longer. Leave it covered after removing from the oven, let it cool and absorb the rest of the liquid, then serve warm or cold. Delicious! My family looks for these at every holiday gathering. Thank you for your videos. I learn so much from you!

[Barbie.Boo]

I have been looking for a recipe for this, thank you your instructions are so clear and straightforward. Thank you

[bigd]

I enjoyed your youtube. I will make the Grapeleaves with ground Lamb fresh herbs and rice just like you made but chicken stock. I will try it. 💖💖

[tariktuhin]

Great..
Thank you so much for making it so beautiful and easy to understand 🙏

[tanvav]

My late Yiayia (grandma) used to make these a lot with ground beef and it was so delicious. We would dip in with plain yogurt on the side which is also great. You remind me of how my Yiayia (grandma) made those.

[terrypogue]

I have made your dolmades several times. I gave my friend some that i had frozen. She just texted me and said she served them last night and her husband groaned with delight so she asked me for the recipe. I sent it to her. I make your recipe as demonstrated except i use Carolina Gold long grain rice and cook them in the pressure cooker at high pressure for 18 minutes and natural release for 15 minutes. I use an inverted pyrex pie plate on top of the vine leaves. I also do your stuffed cabbage rolls in the pressure cooker. Delicious and i like the avgolemono on just about on or in anything but i think the vegetarian vine leaves really benefit from the tangy lemon. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.

[TomsTreasures]

Great recipe! It was very simple and easy to make. I made these dolmades with half the meat but did not halve the seasonings. Luckily for me, I have grapevines growing in my yard. I harvested some fresh leaves last week and prepared them for rolling. So I was all ready to roll! I was able to throw together the meat and seasonings in no time flat, and a half-hour later I had about 50 nicely uniform rolls! Thank you!

[djddean]

I’ve made these with ground beef, but your recipe with lamb is so delicious. Need to make this! Thank you

[Tasty-Dishes]

I love all variation of dolma and this one looks so delicious :)

[maureenedonovan]

One of my faves. Thanks for the recipe.

[jennyrojas]

It makes a massive difference in flavor when you add pomegranate molasses during the cooking process

[titasdragonnails]

Your recipe was amazing, I followed your instructions to a Tee (lol), my family loved them, blessings to you and your family for sharing with us! I also subscribed to your channel, can't wait to try more of your recipes!!

[johnkinsela]

Thank you for this recipe. I've made them with just vegetables before but I love lamb and mint so much. They do taste so much better cold the next day. Yum

[sametasl]

dolmades called dolma in Turkey and we have similar foods. Thank you for great recipe.

[georgetouliatos]

My Mom would add some fresh dill and 3 ounces of tomato paste to the bowl before mixing, and they were to die for.

[robertcarver]

Great tips! You motivated me to make another batch!

[donnadenny]

I used to eat these growing up, I love to eat them cold with lemon juice. Going to make this soon!

[CynthiaHunterNightwillow]

Can you freeze batches and pull them out and cook them as you want?

[ibunerayainyong]

Thank you..it's look delicious..yammy..! 😋😙😙

[ravenblackhawke]

ravenblackhawke
I add home made chicken stock with lemon juice into the pot for added flavor.
Next day after I refrigerate them I make my Greek thick egg lemon sauce and spoon it
over and also sprinkle some fresh mint and dill, then sit and devour them. Delicious!