Vegetarian Grape Leaves, Appetizer style (dolmadakia)
Stuffed Grape Leaves - Vegetarian
Appetizer Style
I attended a dolmathes class led by Gayle Hurmuses in Cowichan Bay. My husband Paul and I enjoyed the village of Cowichan Bay so much that I wrote this article about it for my own blog:
I was reading a Facebook post by
Gayle Hurmuses seconds after she posted her inaugural Greek cooking class on
the Greek Recipe Exchange site. It was my lucky day because I belong to a
number of Greek recipe sites and don’t read them in any logical or consistent
order.
Something about her post drew me to
the idea that I needed to take her class on dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves)
even though I make them all the time with my husband Paul too, who knows how to
roll them well. I'm currently in the process of updating the Assumption of the Virgin
Mary Greek Orthodox Church of Long Beach, Grecian Festival by the Sea, edited
by my late mother, Coula Kootsikas.
"Why not", I
thought? Vancouver, B.C. is only a 3-hour flight from Los Angeles and in
the same time zone with only a 2-hour ferry boat ride to Vancouver Island. It
felt like traveling in Greece, with equally beautiful scenery, albeit snowy.
Taking the dolmathes class was the
highlight of our trip, well almost the highlight, as we did see humpback whales
while traveling on the ferry. We stayed in Cowichan Bay, at the DreamWeaver
B&B where the best breakfasts I’ve eaten were served. We walked the
waterfront of Cowichan Bay as if we were in a scene of Murder She Wrote in
Cabot Cove, Maine. Everyone is very friendly and the restaurants we ate at were
excellent.
Just 3-4 miles down the road are the
beautiful grounds of Providence Farm where the class was held. The class, four
and a half hours, was held at the farm, which operates as a therapeutic
community. In the mid-1880’s it was acquired by the Sisters of St. Ann
and it became a boarding school for orphaned girls of any ethnicity. The
Sisters of St. Ann gifted the property to the
Vancouver Island Providence Community Association (VIPCA) – named in memory of
Sister Mary Providence, founder. Currently the Providence Farm serves
the community at large, especially children with special needs, https://www.providence.bc.ca/.
Chef Gayle works along-side her
co-chef, Tilman Hainle, noted Vintner of the Hainle Vineyards where the first Canadian ice wine was
created, https://hainle.com/ and with the assistance of her
niece Jasmine. Chef’s Gayle and Tilman are extremely knowledgeable, creative and quite organized.
Everything is measured out in advance for you to prepare the dish including
typed-written detailed recipes for you to take home. As part of the class, we
enjoyed a taste of what everyone made.
You’re probably wondering why I would
take a class in dolmathes when I already know how to make them? Something in
her post lead me to think it would be fun, and that I would learn new
techniques. Personally, I did not have a good recipe for vegetarian dolmathes
and now I have an excellent one, along with learning how to use a dolmathes
roller.
I learned how Chef Gayle makes
her avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce to drizzle over the dolmathes. Usually, I just
squeeze lemon juice over my dolmathes. Adding avgolemono sauce takes the
dolmathes to the next level. Gayle has the right technique by using egg yolks
only with broth and lemon juice, making it quite creamy and very tasteful. I
would use chicken broth, but vegetarian broth, which we used in the class, is
also an excellent choice.
In The Art of Eating, the distinguished
culinary author M.F.K. Fisher writes, … “the foundation of all French
cookery is butter, as that of Italian is olive oil, for Germans it is lard, and
for Russians, sour cream.” If I could boldly add to the list, I would include
fresh lemons for Greek cooking and of course olive oil belongs to us as well.
Chef Gayle’s addition of fresh lemon juice to her avgolemono sauce created a
harmony of flavors.
The class was more than "follow
this ‘recipe step by step and it will be perfect". Explanations were
included to learn the reasons for each technique. For example, Chef Gayle
explained that continuously whipping avgolemono sauce with egg yolks over a
double boiler prevents making scrambled eggs. She simplifies the recipe by
putting all ingredients cold into a bowl, which is then set over hot
boiling water. The indirect heat allows the egg yolks to cook and thicken without scorching, preventing
clumping of the proteins as long as you keep whisking. As Chef Gayle further
explained, if egg whites may be included, but you will have a thinner sauce. Using only egg yolks makes for a
creamer, thicker dip, or drizzle on top of the dolmathes. Not to worry if
you don’t have a double-broiler, she shows you how to put one together with
what you have in your kitchen.
Besides being extremely
knowledgeable, creative and organized as previously mentioned, co-chefs Gayle
and Tilman are a lot of fun. I highly recommend taking one of her classes. I
hope to take another class on our next vacation to Vancouver. I heard there may
be a baklava class …and who doesn’t love bakalava?
Stuffed Grape Leaves, Vegeterian
(dolmadakia gialantzi)
|
Simmer: 45-60 minutes |
Prep: 1 hour |
Serves: 75-85 pieces |
Dolmathakia
with the “akia” on the end of the word means “small one”. These stuffed grape
leaves are made on the smaller side to be served as an appetizer hot or cold
with or without avgolemono (egg-lemon) sauce drizzled over. We have the
Anatolian Greeks to thank for this lovely appetizer. The number of stuffed grape leaves may vary on
brand used. Consider adding more spices based on taste. Spanish onions may be
used interchangeably with yellow onions
Ingredients
|
1 16-ounce jar grape leaves 1/2 cup olive oil 3 - 4 medium onions, minced 5 cups converted rice |
2 tablespoons salt 2 cups pine nuts,
chopped 2 cups pine dried
currant or raisins, chopped 2 cups double-strength
broth, divided |
|
|
|
Cut stems off grape leaves
and set aside. Sauté onion in olive oil until fragrant and transparent. Add converted
rice, dill, salt, pine nuts, and currants or raisins; stir until fully coated.
Add 1 cup of broth to rice mixture, place bowl of rice mixture over a pan of
hot water and allow rice to cook, without stirring, until broth is absorbed.
Lay glossy side down with vein side showing. Place about one tablespoon of rice mixture on the wide end of leaf and roll it
up like a cigar, folding outer edges in as you roll.
Layer the stuffed grape leaves in an
8-quart pot and add remaining broth to almost
cover them (add more broth if needed). Cover with plate to prevent leaves from
unrolling. With lid on, bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat
and simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Drain the
liquid. Place cooked stuffed grape leaves on a
serving platter and drizzle with lemon juice or egg-lemon sauce to taste (see
next recipe). May be eaten hot or cold.
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