Many of us have had dolmades – those flavour-packed little numbers wrapped with grape leaves. But have you tried these Turkish kabak çiçeği dolması where the rice filling is stuffed into zucchini or pumpkin flowers?

Not that they’re exclusive to Turkey, mind you, as neighbouring Greece does them, as well.

Neighbours with good taste, I say!

Regular old dolmades may be delicious, but when it comes to looks, they’re not exactly the prettiest things. That’s why I was drawn to the zucchini flowers.

These guys are the perfect addition to any Mediterranean-style platter of appetisers. Surrounded by glistening olives, hunks of feta cheese, fresh bread, cured meats and olive oil – they’re bound to impress anyone you present them with.

Biting into the soft flowers conjures images of the sparkling Mediterranean with its rocky coastlines and turquoise bays and coves.

Well, that’s where my imagination takes me, anyway.

Sigh.

Adapted from here.

Print Recipe

Kabak çiçeği dolması - stuffed zucchini flowers

These kabak çiçeği dolması are a different take on dolmades, and they're so much prettier.

Course

Starters

Cuisine

Cretan, Turkish

Servings

pieces

Ingredients

• 1 onion roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 120 ml olive oil (½ cup)
• 1 medium tomato finely chopped
• 200 g rice
• 2 tsp pul biber (red pepper powder)
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves 20 grams, chopped
• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves 20 grams, chopped
• 1 whole lemon zest & juice
• 30 zucchini flowers stamens removed
• ½ lemon juiced
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• 240 ml water (1 cup)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds toasted, to garnish
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses to garnish

Course Starters Cuisine Cretan, Turkish Servings pieces Ingredients 1 onion roughly chopped 1 clove garlic 120 ml olive oil (½ cup) 1 medium tomato finely chopped 200 g rice 2 tsp pul biber (red pepper powder) ½ tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 1 cup fresh mint leaves 20 grams, chopped 1 cup fresh parsley leaves 20 grams, chopped 1 whole lemon zest & juice 30 zucchini flowers stamens removed ½ lemon juiced ¼ cup virgin olive oil 240 ml water (1 cup) 1 tsp cumin seeds toasted, to garnish 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses to garnish

Instructions

1. Purée the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion-garlic purée and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add the tomato and cook for a further 5 minutes.
2. Add the rice, pul biber, pepper, salt, lemon juice and zest. Stir well and set aside to cool.
3. Stuff each zucchini flower with the rice filling, then gently fold over the petals one by one to enclose. Repeat until they're all filled, lay them into a large skillet in a single layer. Pour over the lemon juice (from ½ lemon), virgin olive oil and water.
4. Cover the skillet and cook over a very low heat for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before attempting to remove from the skillet as they can fall apart if lifted when hot.
5. Serve warm or cold, garnished with toasted cumin seeds and pomegranate molasses, if you wish.

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