Appetizer / Meze

2 viral, validated appetizer / meze recipes — each tested by a named editor in a real kitchen.

• Greek · 95 min · Medium

  Dolmades — foglie di vite ripiene alla greca

  The dainty, savoury parcels of the Greek table: tender grape (vine) leaves rolled around a fragrant filling of rice, herbs, onion and pine nuts, simmered gently in olive oil and lemon until silky. Dolmades (dolmadakia) are a labour of love made by the trayful — served warm or, in the meatless 'yalantzi' style, cool with a squeeze of lemon as part of a meze spread. Bright, lemony and herby, they're addictive little bites.

• Georgian · 80 min · Easy

  Badrijani — involtini di melanzana e noci georgiani

  A jewel of the Georgian supra (feast table): slices of fried eggplant rolled around a vivid, garlicky walnut paste seasoned with the country's signature spices — blue fenugreek, marigold, coriander — and finished with ruby pomegranate seeds. Badrijani nigvzit is rich, savoury and a little tangy, eaten cool as an appetiser. The walnut filling, smooth and intensely flavoured, is the heart of so much Georgian cooking, and here it's at its most elegant.