Courgette flowers have a light flavour (a bit like cucumber) and make a delicate shell for the rice filling in kabak çiçeği dolması (kah-bahk chee-cheh-ee dohl-mah-suh). The grated halloumi adds a creamy flavour that balances the fragrant chopped onion and dried mint. As the filling is very similar to yalancı dolma, the dish can be eaten hot or cold.
The key to making kabak çiçeği dolması is a gentle hand, as the flowers can tear easily. The courgette flowers need to be picked early in the morning as the petals close later in the day, making them harder to pull apart and fill.
If you are picking courgette flowers from the garden and you don’t have enough, you can make the dolma in two batches over a couple of days by placing the prepared ones along with the filling in the fridge. This gives more time for new flowers to develop and pick. Once they’re all prepared, you can cook them together.
Medium grain rice is used so that the kabak çiçeği dolması remain soft to eat when cold. Avoid using long grain rice as it goes hard when cold and doesn't provide the right texture.
Kabak çiçeği dolması is normally served as a side or starter and goes perfectly with creamy yoghurt on the side.
Serves 4 to 6, as a side | Preparation time: 30 minutes | Cooking time: 1 hour | Additional time: 10 minutes resting time after cooking
Ingredients
30-40 courgette flowers | |
Filling | Final preparation |
200g medium grain white rice, washed well and strained | 1 medium onion, sliced into half-moon shapes |
1 medium onion, finely chopped | 25ml lemon juice, or as desired |
200g tinned chopped tomatoes | 25ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra |
50g halloumi, finely grated | 125ml hot water, plus extra |
50ml extra virgin olive oil | ½ chicken or vegetable stock cube |
75ml lemon juice, or as desired | 1 tsp tomato paste |
75ml cold water | |
1 ½ tsp tomato paste | |
1 tsp dried mint | |
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon | |
⅛ tsp ground black pepper | |
½ tsp salt, or as desired | |
Hob heat settings
Method
Courgette flower preparation:
Remove the small green leaves around the base of each flower along with the stem so that they are flat at the base. See the image below for what they should look like after cleaning.
Wash each flower under a low-flowing tap (it should be a light dribble of water), very gently parting the petals to get the water inside the flower (be careful not to tear the petals open). After washing, tip the flowers to rinse completely and place them all in a sieve or wire rack upside down to fully strain for at least 5 minutes.
Dolma preparation and cooking:
While the flowers are straining, prepare the filling by mixing all the ingredients together well. Lightly oil a 20cm-wide saucepan with olive oil and spread the sliced onion (see ‘final preparation’ ingredients) evenly across the bottom.
Gently part each flower’s petals so that you can access the centre.
Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of filling (depending on the size of the flower) up to just below the point where the petals split from the base.
Gently tuck each petal inwards to wrap around the filling.
For the last petal, tuck it behind the flower and lay the filled dolma in the saucepan over the sliced onions so that this petal is pressed down on the bottom side (this prevents the dolma from opening up while cooking).
Repeat steps 2 to 5 to make all the dolma and lay them in concentric circles in the saucepan.
For the final preparation, mix the stock cube with the tomato paste, lemon juice, olive oil and hot water (see ‘final preparation’ ingredients), and pour over the dolma in the saucepan. Place a small plate on top that leaves a 2cm gap around the edges - this prevents the dolma from opening up while cooking.
Top up with enough hot water so that it is level with the top of the dolma. Place on a medium heat while loosely covered for 5-10 minutes or until it starts to lightly bubble continuously. Reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the rice is cooked inside the dolma.
Leave loosely covered to settle for at least 10 minutes before serving (they will fall apart if you serve them sooner). Serve warm or cold with yoghurt on the side.