Stuffed Silverbeet Leaves with Rice & Herbs

Dolma from a northern garden: large blanched silverbeet leaves rolled around rice, herbs, and pine nuts, gently simmered in lemon broth.

From Turkey to Lebanon, people roll fillings into silverbeet leaves exactly as they do into vine leaves, and the plant they use is ours under other names: pazı, silq, mangold. The leaves are milder than vine leaves and large enough that the rolling goes quickly.

The stems are chopped and fried into the filling, so the whole plant ends up in the pot. The filling is vegan as written, with rice, herbs, raisins, and pine nuts in the Turkish style.

Ingredients

16–20 large silverbeet leaves with stems (about 2 bunches)
200 g pudding rice or other short-grain rice
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp raisins or currants
1 large handful parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill or mint, chopped
½ tsp ground allspice
4 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
400 ml vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper

Method

1Cut the stems off the leaves and chop them finely. Blanch the leaves in boiling water for 30–60 seconds until pliable, cool in cold water, and lay them out on a clean tea towel.
2Fry onion and chopped stems in 2 tbsp of the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the pine nuts and cook 2 minutes more until just colouring.
3Stir in the rice, raisins, allspice, 1 tsp salt, and plenty of pepper. Pour in 100 ml of the stock and let the rice absorb it for 5 minutes. The rice should still have bite.
4Take the pot off the heat and stir in the herbs and half the lemon juice. Let the filling cool slightly.
5Lay a leaf flat, shiny side down, and place a generous tablespoon of filling near the base. Fold in the sides and roll up tightly. Repeat with the rest.
6Line the bottom of a wide pot with a couple of the scruffiest leaves and pack the rolls in snugly, seam side down.
7Pour over the remaining stock, lemon juice, and oil, and rest a small plate on top of the rolls to hold them in place during cooking.
8Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer covered for 40–45 minutes until the rice is fully tender. Rest for 10 minutes in the pot before serving.

Serving suggestions

Serve warm or at room temperature with thick yoghurt and lemon wedges. For a meat version, stir 200 g raw beef mince into the cooled filling and cook as before.

Make ahead, store, and reheat

The rolls improve the next day, once the lemon has settled in. They keep 3–4 days in the fridge and are served cold or gently reheated with a splash of water in the pot.