One of the best meals I’ve ever had was in Istanbul 15 years ago – at a local restaurant in a small alleyway.

The flavours and textures were incredible. I’d never tasted real dolmades before – just the canned ones. They are completely different – the taste experience has stayed with me and my mouth waters just thinking of being there.

I’ve recently started making my own. I forage through my permaculture garden and find a range of ingredients to make seasonal local versions of this very tasty meal and I am very impressed.  They taste so good!

Pumpkin leaf dolmades.

It may seem unlikely, but pumpkin leaves steamed lightly for just a few minutes lose their prickliness and become amazingly soft and delicious.

Pumpkin leaves can be added to anything you use spinach in – spanikopita, quiche, stir-fry, soup, stew, curry.

Here is my recipe for dolmades made with fresh garden ingredients.

Recipe: Pumpkin Leaf and Choko Dolmades

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pine nuts or sunflower seeds (toasted)
• 1 ½ cups rice
• 1 medium onion
• 1 small finely sliced fennel bulb
• 1 choko finely sliced
• 1/4 cup currants
• 1/4 cup fresh finely chopped mint (and/or tulsi, parsley, oregano…)
• 1 lime/lemon freshly squeezed 1 tbsp lemon/lime zest
• 50 young pumpkin leaves (or tender choko leaves)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Allspice

Instructions

1. Steam the pumpkin leaves for 5 mins and set aside to cool.
2. Dice the onion and sauté with 1/4 cup of olive oil.
3. When they turn translucent, add the toasted pine nuts/seeds* and sauté for 5 more minutes
4. .Add rice and stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until the rice is translucent.
5. Add fennel, cinnamon, lemon, pepper, dried currants allspice and chopped parsley.
6. After another quick stir, add 1/2 cup of boiling water and simmer on low medium heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed into the rice mixture.
7. Take off heat and let cool.
8. Roll a tablespoon of the mix onto each leaf and roll.
9. Serve with fresh natural yoghurt or tahini sauce (recipe below)

Put the veined side of the leaf up – place mixture near the stem end, roll once, fold sides over then finish rolling to the tip.

Note: Normally at this point with dolmades, the rolls are then packed very tightly into a pot and simmered with oil, lime/lemon juice and water for approx 45 mins until the liquid is absorbed. However I find that the pumpkin leaves do not survive this process like grape leaves do. The choko leaves or OK with it.

* I use a flat plate sandwich maker to quickly toast seeds.

I made balls with the left over rice mixture and rolled them in toasted sesame seeds – mmm…an absolutely delicious lunchbox treat.

The abundant and easy to grow Society Garlic – the flowers have more garlic potency than the strappy leaves. They taste great in this tahini dressing. They taste great too in pesto.

Society Garlic Tahini Dressing