Dolma . . . I love this word. It means stuffed in Turkish. There are dolmas which are assorted vegetables that are stuffed with meat and rice mixtures or just rice mixtures. My Stuffed Collard Greens or Kara Lahana Dolması are meat and rice stuffed dolmas. Then there is the dolmuş which is a mini bus stuffed with people. I have heard that now there are regulations on how many people can be carried in a dolmuş. When I was living in Turkey, all the seats would be full and then people would be standing and have to move back and forth as people got out and in of the dolmuş. Money would be passed from the back to the front by passengers and the driver was a pro at knowing who had paid and who had not. Change would be sent back the same way from front to the back. This brings back memories of my many rides on the dolmuş. In 1992, when I worked in the Yeşilköy office of Onur Air, my then husband and I were living in Avcılar. Each day, I would walk several blocks to the Dolmuş Durak, get on the dolmuş and ride to the train station. From there I would get on the train and take about a ten to fifteen minute train ride to Yeşilköy. Upon exiting the train I would rush across the street and up to our office building. In those days I was very shy, glad I got over that in a hurry. Going to work was the easy part. It was the ride home that petrified me. You see, going to work, the dolmuş automatically stopped at the train station so I did not have to say anything. But going home, I had to say ‘inecek var!’. In a “stuffed” dolmuş where from my blond hair and blue eyes, everyone knew I was a foreigner or Yabancı, I was mortified. I have to admit, on a few occasions, I was so nervous that I squeaked out “Inek var!”, which means have a cow. I finally got the hang of it and now as I write this I am cracking up inside. I wonder how many other mistakes I made that I wasn’t even aware that I had made. Well, at least I was trying and even though I have not been back to visit in over 15 years, Turkey or Turkiye is still my adopted country. I love the people, the hospitality, the culture, and the food. Oh, yeah, back to the food. Here is my recipe for Stuffed Collard Greens or Kara Lahana Dolması. Hope you enjoy! Afiyet olsun!
- 1 Bunch Collards, washed and picked through
- 1 Pound Ground Beef, 80/20
- ¼ Cup Rice
- 1 Small Onion
- 2 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- ⅛ Teaspoon Black Pepper
- ⅛ Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper, Optional
- For Serving
- Garlic Yogurt
- Wash the collards and remove the tough center stem. You can place this in the bottom of the pan in which you will be cooking the stuffed collards. Also place a few collard leafs into the bottom of the pan.
- Place the collards into boiling water and cook 5-8 minutes.
- Drain and place collards in ice bath. When cool drain.
- While the collards are cooking, place the ground beef, rice, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper and red pepper if using into a large mixing bowl.
- Grate the onion into the large mixing bowl.
- Mix the onion and ground beef mixture until well blended.
- When the collards are cool enough to handle, take a proportionate amount of the meat mixture in the palm of your hand and form into a long cylinder shape and place on the collard leaf at the top end.
- Fold the edges to the center like an envelope and then roll down to the bottom.
- Place seam side down in the bottom of the pan.
- Continue until all the meat or collard greens are used up.
- Arrange in neat rows and if there is any extra meat you could just shape in to round patties and place on top of the rolled dolmas.
- If you have any greens left just place them on top.
- Cover the dolmas with water and sprinkle with the remaining salt.
- Place a plate or bowl on top of the dolmas to keep them in place while cooking.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer on low 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Serve topped with
- garlic yogurt
- and a crusty bread! Afiyet olsun!
