Dolmadakia with eggplant
Dolmadakia with eggplant takes the classic Greek stuffed grape leaves to a new level of sophistication. In this fasting dish, grape leaves are eschewed in favor of thinly sliced eggplant, which is used as the wrapping for a delicious mixture of rice, pine nuts, and aromatic herbs. The eggplant lends a velvety texture and a subtle earthy flavor to each bite. These exquisite parcels are carefully crafted, creating a harmonious blend of Mediterranean flavors. Whether steamed or baked, the result is a culinary masterpiece that showcases the rich tapestry of tastes inherent in this beloved regional cuisine. If it is not fasting day, you can serve these eggplant-wrapped dolmadakia with a side of tzatziki.
We cut the eggplants into slightly thick slices and we fry them.
Immediately after, we put them on an absorbent paper.
We roast the pine nuts in olive oil.
At the same time, we put the rice in water for about half an hour.
For the stuffing:
We chop the onions and peppers into small pieces.
We sauté them in a pot.
Then, we add the two tomatoes, the peppers, the rice, the pine nuts with the oil that we roast it, the dill, the finely chopped parsley and the chopped green onions.
We season well with salt and pepper.
We remove the pot from the fire.
For the composition:
We take the two eggplants, place them one on top of the other in the shape of a cross.
We put a tablespoon of the filling in the middle.
We wrap well and nail it with a toothpick.
We put the “dolmadakia” in a pyrex, one next to the other.
We pour the remaining olive oil and the juice from the two remaining tomatoes.
We bake in a preheated oven for half an hour at 180o C.
We must be careful with the cook time of the filling because the mixture should not boil too much.
If you find yourself short on time for the eggplant wrapping process, you can opt for an equally delicious alternative. Simply prepare the same recipe, and instead of encasing the filling with eggplant, spread it on top before placing it in the oven. Or alternative you can put one eggplant with the stuffing and roll it out.
If we don’t like pine nuts, we can just skip them.
We can use whatever peppers we have.
