Nowadays, dolmas are standard fare throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus. But it is interesting to ponder how they became so in ancient lands that never had New World ingredients until seafarers carried them to the Old World on their return journeys. To complicate the story, they put ashore in Atlantic ports, so it was still a long trek to get to the eastern Mediterranean. Nonetheless, they did, once again demonstrating the scope and power of food as a pathway of global interconnections. Adding a bed of potatoes as infrastructure in this dolma is a particularly Greek touch, and a good one. The potatoes soak up the juices rendered as the vegetables cook and collapse into them, making a crude sauce on the bottom of the dish. I prefer green bell peppers, but it seems these days red bells are equally, if not more, favored, so I make a mix of them, including some yellow and orange ones that add sunny color to the array.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut 1/2-inch-thick caps off the peppers and tomatoes and set the caps aside. Scoop out and discard the seeds from the peppers and set the peppers aside. Scoop out and discard the seeds from the tomatoes, then cut the pulp out of the center of each tomato, leaving a thick shell (some seeds clinging to the removed pulp is okay). Set the tomatoes and pulp aside separately.
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil the bottom and sides of a baking dish large enough to hold the peppers and tomatoes in a single tightly packed layer.
Step 3
Slice the potatoes into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Line the baking dish with the slices, overlapping them, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread the reserved tomato pulp over the top and season with salt and pepper. Fill the peppers and tomatoes with the sausage, and set the stuffed vegetables in the dish side by side, arranging them snugly. Replace the caps on the peppers and tomatoes and pour the water into the dish around, not into, the vegetables. Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
Step 4
Bake until the potatoes and peppers are fork-tender and the tomatoes are beginning to collapse, about 1 hour.
Step 5
Serve hot or at room temperature, with the yogurt on the side.
