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Lahanodolmades me Avgolemono (stuffed cabbage leaves)

Lahanodolmades me Avgolemono (stuffed cabbage leaves)

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Lahanodolmades me avgolemono is a rustic Fall / Winter Greek dish with cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice in an egg-lemon sauce.

Lahanodolmades with salad image

I am sure that all of you who love Greek cuisine know what dolmades are and to be frank they are one of many of my all time favourite Greek comfort food.

I usually buy a lot of vine leaves during spring when they are tender and store them in the deep freezer to last for a whole year.  

However, sometimes they finish before spring so during winter a good alternative would be lahanodolmades, which are stuffed cabbage leaves or seskoulodolmades, stuffed chard leaves.

In order to make lahanodolmades you have to buy a large cabbage whose leaves are not very tight but should be rather loose.  

The cabbage core is removed and you have to immerse the cabbage in hot, salty water until they start becoming soft.  

In order to be able to remove it from the hot water,  you can stick a large fork in the centre, remove the outer leaves and continue cooking them until you have removed enough.  

Some leaves may be damaged but those can be collected as well as any leftover cabbage and turn into another Greek dish called “Lahanoryzo”, which is a kind of rice pilaf with cabbage, which makes a great side dish or a vegetarian meal on itself with some Greek yoghurt.

Collage making Lahanodolmades image

Ingredients needed to make Lahanodolmades

  • Cabbage  
  • Ground veal or beef or pork, if you prefer
  • Rice
  • Onion 
  • Green onion 
  • Parsley 
  • Dill 
  • Mint 
  • Aromatic herbs such as, kafkalithres and myronia (optional)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper 
  • Chicken stock or 1 bouillon dissolved with water

Avgolemono sauce:

  • Eggs
  • Lemon juice
  • Corn flour (starch)
  • Broth

How to make Lahanodolmades:

  1. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Carefully remove the core of the cabbage, stick a fork in the centre and boil cabbage until outer leaves become soft.  Remove as many leaves as you can and continue with more leaves.
  2. In a bowl put the ground meat, the rice, the onion, parsley, herbs, salt and pepper, as well as half the oil and mix well.
  3. If the leafs are very big cut them into pieces about 4 x 4 inches and remove any hard core.  Add a heaped spoonful of minced meat (the amount of the filling will depend on the size of the leaf).
  4. Neatly fold left edge and then right edge and then roll all the way. Wrap up into a cigar shape (don’t fold too tight as the rice will expand during cooking). Repeat with the remaining  leaves and filling and fold each side of the leaf and then roll.
  5. Place neatly in the pot (I use the same one the cabbage was boiled) starting from the edge to the centre. Second and third layers may be placed on top, then cover with the plate (which must be exactly the size of the pan). This is done so that when the lahanodolmades are boiling they will not open.
  6. Add the remaining olive oil and water (or stock) just to cover the plate and when reaching boiling point lower heat and cook for 45 minutes.
  7. Drain most of the broth keeping 1 cup for the avgolemono.
  8. Let them cool down for a while and then pour over the avgolemono sauce. See step-by-step instructions here.

Note:  Avgolemono needs some time to thicken, so it’s better leave it for at least half an hour before serving.

Lahanodolmades stuffed cabbage image

Lahanodolmades me Avgolemono (stuffed cabbage leaves)

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Lahanodolmades me avgolemono is a rustic Fall / Winter Greek dish with cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice in an egg-lemon sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 large cabbage about 2 kilos
  • 1 kilo ground veal, beef (or pork, if you prefer)
  • ½ cup of rice, preferably Carolina or other short grain rice (similar to arborio)
  • 1 big red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green onion, finely chopped
  • ½ cup of parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup dill, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp dried mint)
  • ½ cup aromatic herbs such as, kafkalithres and myronia (optional)
  • ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • Freshly grated black pepper
  • Chicken stock or 1 bouillon dissolved with water

Avgolemono sauce:

  • 3 egg yolks
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp corn flour (starch)
  • 1 cup broth

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil.
  2. Carefully remove the core of the cabbage, stick a fork in the centre and boil cabbage until outer leaves become soft.
  3. Remove as many leaves as you can and continue with more leaves.
  4. In a bowl put the ground meat, the rice, the onion, parsley, herbs, salt and pepper, as well as half the olive oil and mix well.
  5. If the leafs are very big cut them into pieces about 4 x 4 inches and remove any hard core 
  6. Add a heaped spoonful of minced meat (the amount of the filling will depend on the size of the leaf).
  7. Neatly fold left edge and then right edge and then roll all the way.
  8. Wrap up into a cigar shape (don't fold too tight as the rice will expand during cooking).
  9. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling and fold each side of the leaf and then roll.
  10. Place neatly in the pot (I use the same one the cabbage was boiled) starting from the edge to the centre. Second and third layers may be placed on top, then cover with the plate (which must be exactly the size of the pan). This is done so that when the lahanodolmades are boiling they will not open.
  11. Add the remaining olive oil and water (or stock) just to cover the plate and when reaching boiling point lower heat and cook for 45 minutes.
  12. Drain most of the broth keeping 1 cup for the avgolemono sauce.
  13. Let them cool down for about ten minutes and pour the avgolemono sauce on top 
  14. Toss the pot so that the sauce reaches the bottom of the pot.

Notes

Avgolemono needs some time to thicken, so it's better leave it for at least half an hour before serving.

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 577Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 22gCholesterol 176mgSodium 1241mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 6gSugar 9gProtein 43g

"These values are automatically calculated and offered for guidance only. Their accuracy is not guaranteed."

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Tried this recipe? Tag me @ivyliac and use the hashtag #kopiaste!

Collage Lahanodolmades (stuffed cabbage) image



Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,

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fimère

Thursday 28th of February 2013

un plat appétissant et délicieux bravo bonne journée

Reeni

Wednesday 27th of February 2013

Thanks for showing us how to make these wonderful cabbage rolls Ivy! They look absolutely delicious!

Nadji

Tuesday 26th of February 2013

J'aime beaucoup le chou farci. Ta version me plait beaucoup. Je note. See soon.

Angie

Tuesday 26th of February 2013

I love these cabbage rolls, Ivy. The whole dish looks very appetizing.

Eftychia

Tuesday 26th of February 2013

Such a great Greek recipe! Lahanodolmades is a dish that I would never say "NO" to...

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