Name: Stuffed Vine Leaves with Fava Beans (Dolmades with Koukia)
Yield: Makes 50-60
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 cup olive oil; Sea salt to taste; ½-1 teaspoon minced dried chili pepper, or ⅓-½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or freshly ground pepper; ½ cup dried fava beans, soaked in water overnight; 1½ cups hot water; 1 pound fresh, frozen, or brine-packed vine leaves (about 50-70); 1 cup finely chopped fresh dill; ½ cup chopped fresh mint; ¾ cup short-grain rice; ½ cup pine nuts; 1½ cups finely chopped scallions; Juice of 3 lemons

Preparation info

Makes
50-60

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Foods of Greece

By Aglaia Kremezi

Published 1993

About

The fresh and distinctive taste of vine leaves was appreciated from the ancient times, as Athenaeus writes.

In early May, all over Greece but especially in the islands of the Dodecanese where this dish is made year-round, the women go to the vineyards to collect their year’s supply of fresh and tender vine leaves. While the leaves are still fresh, they wrap bunches of fifty or so in aluminum foil and put them in the freezer. Or they put as many as they can squeeze in big glass jars—