Signature · about 5 hours spread over 3 days (2½–3 h braise two days ahead), plus 8–12 hours of salting · Serves 4
Lamb and eggplant dolma with citrus yogurt
The dolma of Levantine and Turkish cooking: grape leaves wrapping spiced rice and meat, served with yogurt. It is the most aromatic and fresh version of the wrapped-bundles collection: braised lamb, smoked eggplant and basmati rice with mint, parsley, cumin and coriander, in small, stylized pieces.
The twist is to give each component a precise role. The grape leaf brings a much clearer identity than chard, with a vegetal acidity and a slight astringency. The lamb adds fat and depth, and the eggplant, charred whole over the flame, the smoke. The rice gives structure without becoming the protagonist. The yogurt with lemon, mint and parsley, served barely cold, and a green herb oil cleanse the palate between bites.
Special equipment: oven-safe Dutch oven; blender; steamer or steam oven; probe thermometer
Ingredients
Lamb
- 900 g boneless lamb shoulder
- 10 g salt
- 20 ml neutral oil
- 120 g onion, in small cubes
- 70 g carrot, in small cubes
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 g coriander seeds
- 240 ml dry red wine
- 500 ml lamb or beef stock
- 2 rosemary sprigs
- 2 thyme sprigs
Smoked eggplant
- 500 g eggplant (2 medium)
- 20 ml olive oil
- 10 ml lemon juice
- Salt
Filling
- 310 g shredded braised lamb
- 120 g drained smoked eggplant
- 30 g dry basmati rice (60 g cooked)
- 12 g chopped mint
- 12 g chopped parsley
- 1 g cumin seeds
- 1.5 g coriander seeds
- 25 g reduced lamb jus
Wrapping
- 20–24 large grape leaves, preferably in brine
Citrus yogurt
- 240 g Greek yogurt
- 8 g chopped mint
- 8 g chopped parsley
- Zest of 1 lemon and 10 ml of juice
- 15 ml olive oil
- Salt
Green oil
- 15 g parsley
- 10 g mint
- 70 ml neutral oil
Finishing
- 80–100 ml of the skimmed braising liquid, for the jus
- Small mint leaves or sprouts
Method
Lamb
- Salting and browning. Salt the shoulder 8–12 hours ahead. Dry it and brown it hard in the Dutch oven with the oil; remove it. Sweat the onion and carrot 8 minutes, add the garlic and coriander seeds and cook 1 minute.
- Braising. Deglaze with the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock, rosemary and thyme, return the lamb, cover and braise at 140 °C (285 °F) for about 2½–3 hours, until it separates under the pressure of a spoon. Strain and skim the liquid and shred the meat while still warm. Reduce part of the liquid to 25 g of concentrated jus for the filling, and keep the rest for serving.
Smoked eggplant
- Charring. Char the whole eggplants over the flame, on the grill or on a very hot griddle, turning often, 12–15 minutes, until the skin is completely burnt and the interior nearly collapsed. Let them rest 5 minutes.
- Pulp. Open them and remove the pulp without dragging charred skin. Drain it 20 minutes, chop it with a knife and lightly season with the oil, lemon and salt. 120 g are used.
Filling
- Rice. Cook the basmati to about 60 g cooked, loose.
- Mixing. Gently toast the cumin and coriander and grind them. Mix the lamb, eggplant, rice, mint, parsley, spices and jus: the filling should be moist but not pasty. Do not salt yet, because the brined grape leaf adds a lot of sodium: heat a small sample and taste it. Divide into 12 pieces of about 45 g.
Wrapping
- Leaves. If from brine, rinse under running water and leave them in cold water 20–40 minutes, testing one leaf at 20 minutes. If fresh, blanch 45–60 seconds and cool at once. Dry them completely and choose the 12 best.
- Forming. Lay each leaf with the smoother side down, put the filling near the base, fold in the sides and roll into a slim piece of 7–8 cm. Do not roll as tight as a cabbage roll: grape leaf tears more easily. Store them seam side down.
Citrus yogurt
- Base and herbs. Mix the yogurt with the oil, lemon zest and juice, salt and refrigerate. Add the mint and parsley on the day of service, so they keep their aroma. Serve at about 10–12 °C (50–54 °F), not straight from the refrigerator.
Green oil
- Blending. Blanch the mint and parsley 10 seconds, move them to ice, drain and dry them very well. Heat the oil to 65–70 °C (149–158 °F) and process it with the herbs 3–4 minutes. Strain through a fine filter, chill the container over ice and keep the oil in the refrigerator, protected from light.
Finishing
- Jus. Reduce the reserved braising liquid until it has intensity and just coats a spoon: about 25–30 ml per plate are needed.
- Reheating. Heat the dolmas with steam at 90 °C (194 °F) —in a steam oven or a covered steamer— to 74 °C (165 °F) at the center, checking with the probe from 8–10 minutes, because they are small pieces. Lightly brush with jus and pass them only 20–30 seconds under the broiler: the aim is not to toast the grape leaf.
The dish
Use light flat plates, warmed. Spread 50–60 g of yogurt in a half-moon and set the 3 dolmas partly on top, fanned out. Pour 25–30 ml of hot jus beside the yogurt, without mixing it, and finish with 6–8 small drops of green oil and a mint leaf or a few sprouts. Final look: three glossy olive-green pieces on the white half-moon of yogurt, the dark jus alongside and dots of intense green.
Key points
- Char the eggplant until the skin is black and the interior collapsed: without that there is no smoke.
- Keep the basmati loose and the filling moist but not pasty.
- Taste the salt on a hot sample and only then adjust: the brined leaf already salts.
- Roll without over-tightening, because grape leaf tears easily.
- Reheat to 74 °C (165 °F) at the center, checking from 8 minutes, and do not toast the leaf under the broiler.
Pairing
A cool-climate Syrah or a Patagonian Pinot Noir. Without alcohol, very cold water with cucumber, mint and lemon peel.
Notes
- Servings: the original was a tasting pass of one 45 g dolma per person within the wrapped-bundles menu. This version is a main course: it doubles the original batch and serves 3 dolmas per person, with the same size and reheating time per piece.
- It is wise to desalt or blanch a few extra leaves in case some tear.