Sami Tamimi’s aubergine dolma bake with a spicy herb and spinach salad. Photograph: Beca Jones/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Sami Tamimi’s aubergine dolma bake with a spicy herb and spinach salad. Photograph: Beca Jones/The Guardian Food Sami Tamimi’s recipes for aubergine dolma bake with a spicy herb and spinach salad This comforting dish gives all the pleasure of stuffed vine leaves without the hours of labour. Serve alongside a lemony salad that’s rich with toasted seeds
Prefer the Guardian on Google I wanted the comfort of dolma without spending hours coring, stuffing and rolling. Traditionally, for this Iraqi dish of vine leaves, various vegetables are filled with fragrant rice and often with meat, too, making it a true labour of love. This pie captures all those familiar flavours but, by layering everything instead, the vine leaves become silky and tender. A bright, lemony spinach salad adds freshness and contrast.
Prep 20 min Cook 2 hr 15 min Cool 20 min Serves 6
2 large aubergines (900g), cut lengthways into ½cm-thick slices Olive oil Salt Pomegranate seeds , to serve Yoghurt , to serve (vegan, if need be; optional)
For the filling 10-12 vine leaves in brine (40g), rinsed, dried and roughly chopped 1 red onion , peeled and finely chopped (150g) 3 large garlic cloves , peeled and crushed 2 tsp baharat ½ tsp ground turmeric ⅓ tsp ground black pepper 2 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 2 tbsp lemon juice 350g Egyptian rice (or pudding or risotto rice, as an alternative) 30g mint leaves , finely shredded 50g flat-leaf parsley , finely chopped, plus extra picked leaves to garnish 10g coriander , finely chopped 1 tsp freshly ground coffee
For the sauce 900ml boiling water 80ml lemon juice 2 tbsp tomato paste Black pepper
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7 and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper. Lay the aubergine slices on the lined trays, brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt on both sides. Roast for 20 minutes, flipping the slices once halfway, until they are golden brown, then remove from the oven.
Turn down the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and line a high-sided, roughly 22cm x 35cm oven dish with baking paper.
To make the filling, put all the remaining filling ingredients in a large bowl, add two tablespoons of olive oil and one and a half teaspoons of salt, and mix well.
Line the base of the oven dish with just under half the roast aubergine slices, laying them in at a slight angle and just overlapping slightly, so they completely cover the base of the dish. Spoon over the filling, spread it out in an even layer, then top with another layer of aubergine slices, again overlapping them slightly so they cover the filling.
Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce with one and a half teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper, then slowly pour this all over the aubergine bake (it should cover the top), then seal the dish tightly with tin foil. Put the dish on an oven tray (in case of leakage) and bake for 90 minutes, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice is completely cooked through. Remove from the oven – don’t lift off the foil just yet – and leave to rest for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, then carefully invert the pie on to a large platter. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and a few parsley leaves, and serve warm or at room temperature with the spicy herb and spinach salad below and a good spoonful of yoghurt, if desired.
2 lemons , 1…