Lahanodolmades with avgolemono

Cut the core out of the cabbage in a cone shape, place the head opening-down in a large pot, add water to cover about two-thirds of it, and boil for 15 minutes. Carefully turn it over and cook for another 10 minutes until the leaves soften; peel them off one by one and let them cool.

Trim the tough center ribs from the leaves. Don't discard the coarse outer leaves and trimmings: use them to line the bottom of a wide pot.

In a bowl, combine the ground meat, raw rinsed rice, finely chopped onion, dill, parsley, 30 ml olive oil, salt and black pepper. Do not add egg to the filling: it's needed for the avgolemono.

Place about 1 tbsp of filling on each cabbage leaf, fold the side edges in, and roll up into a tight roll. Arrange the rolls seam-side down in one or two layers.

Add enough water to cover the rolls by 2–3 cm, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and cover with an inverted plate to keep the rolls from unrolling. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 35–45 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. Ladle out about 500 ml of the hot broth into a bowl. Separately, whisk the eggs with the lemon juice, then whisk in the broth in a thin stream, whisking constantly to temper it.

Pour the avgolemono into the pot, gently swirl it in, and warm over the lowest heat until it thickens slightly, without letting it boil (no higher than 80°C), or the eggs will curdle. Serve the lahanodolmades warm or just barely warm, drizzled with the sauce.