Kabak dolması

Ottoman stuffed zucchini with herbed rice and garlic yoghurt

Origin: Ottoman Empire, Anatolia

From the journey of Zucchini.

Dolma, from the Turkish verb doldurmak, to fill or stuff, is one of the great culinary concepts of Ottoman cuisine, applied to every available vegetable receptacle from grape leaves to peppers, aubergines, onions, tomatoes, and kabak (zucchini). Kabak dolması exists in two entirely distinct versions that reflect a fundamental divide in Ottoman cooking: the et dolması stuffed with minced lamb and cooked in a tomato-onion broth, and the zeytinyağlı dolması, literally olive-oil dolma, stuffed with a fragrant, all-vegetable rice filling and served cold at room temperature. The zeytinyağlı version, this recipe, belongs to the Ottoman tradition of cold vegetable meze: dishes cooked in olive oil, allowed to cool, and served without reheating as the first courses of a meal, their flavours deepening and concentrating as they rest. The rice filling, scented with dill, mint, currants, toasted pine nuts, and warm spices, reflects the medieval Arabic culinary tradition of combining sweet dried fruit with savoury grains and aromatics that entered Ottoman cooking through the kitchens of the imperial palace at Topkapi. Garlic-thick cold yoghurt served alongside is the essential counterpoint, its sharp dairy coolness cutting through the richness of the olive-oil-saturated zucchini. This is a dish of considered refinement: the kind of cooking the Ottoman palace kitchen elevated from peasant origins to an art form over five centuries.

Ingredients

Main

6 medium zucchini, about 16–18cm long

Filling

150 g short-grain white rice (baldo or arborio), rinsed
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp dried currants
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
0.5 tsp ground allspice
0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
0.5 tsp sugar
1 tsp fine salt
4 tbsp good olive oil
150 ml hot water

Braising

3 tbsp olive oil, for braising
200 ml hot water or light vegetable stock, for braising
1 tbsp lemon juice

Garlic Yoghurt

300 g thick plain yogurt (preferably full-fat Greek yogurt)
2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with salt
0.5 tsp salt

Method

Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring, until golden; about 2 minutes. Set aside. Lightly sauté the finely chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the rinsed rice and stir for 1 minute to coat with oil.
Add the hot water to the rice and onion mixture, bring to a simmer, and cook for 8 minutes until the water is absorbed and the rice is about half-cooked (it will finish cooking inside the zucchini). Remove from heat. Stir in the toasted pine nuts, currants, dill, mint, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Hollow out each zucchini: cut off the stem end, then use a long thin corer to carefully hollow out the interior from the stem end, leaving walls 5–6mm thick. Do not pierce the base. Reserve the scooped flesh for another use.
Fill each hollowed zucchini to three-quarters full with the rice filling; do not pack too tightly. The rice needs space to expand. Plug the open end with a small piece of the scooped flesh to keep the filling in.
Arrange the stuffed zucchini in a wide, heavy pan in a single layer. Mix the braising olive oil, hot water or stock, and lemon juice together and pour around the zucchini. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover tightly, and cook over low heat for 35–40 minutes until the zucchini is very tender and the rice filling is completely cooked through.
Allow the dolması to cool to room temperature in the pan; this is important. As they cool, the zucchini absorbs the braising liquid and the filling firms up. Make the garlic yoghurt: whisk together the yogurt, crushed garlic, and salt. Refrigerate until needed.

Notes

Zeytinyağlı kabak dolması keeps in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and improves considerably overnight. The garlic yoghurt is served separately in a bowl: each person spoons it alongside or on top to taste. A drizzle of good olive oil and extra fresh dill over the finished dish is traditional. For a meat version, replace the pine nuts and currants with 150g minced lamb mixed raw into the rice filling, cook in a tomato-onion broth, and serve hot.

The Gastrographer

Name: Kabak dolması
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Anatolia
Ingredients: 6 medium zucchini, about 16–18cm long; 150 g short-grain white rice (baldo or arborio), rinsed; 1 medium onion, very finely chopped; 3 tbsp pine nuts; 2 tbsp dried currants; 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill; 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint; 0.5 tsp ground allspice; 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.5 tsp sugar; 1 tsp fine salt; 4 tbsp good olive oil; 150 ml hot water; 3 tbsp olive oil, for braising; 200 ml hot water or light vegetable stock, for braising; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 300 g thick plain yogurt (preferably full-fat Greek yogurt); 2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste with salt; 0.5 tsp salt

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control