Greek Gemista – Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers

 

 

You know summer’s arrived when Greeks start cooking stuffed vegetables!

Gemista (Greek for filled), are summer vegetables, usually tomatoes and bell peppers but courgettes and aubergines are also firm favourites, stuffed with a spicy rice filling.

There are a variety of recipes, all delicious; it just depends on your taste, raisins may be added for a sweet touch, or pine nuts for a more unique flavor and some like them with minced beef or pork added to the rice.

All recipes though, more or less, include chopped fresh parsley.

My preference is for this basic recipe (below), using only tomatoes and peppers and a few sliced potatoes, cooked in the juice from the tomatoes and lashings of olive oil, after all, this dish falls into the category of Greek dishes called lathera, meaning, cooked in oil.

 

Ingredients

 

 

The roasting pan I use is 38 x 47 cm, large, I know but gemista are also just as tasty eaten cold the next day, so I cook enough for two days, sometimes we even  go onto a third day, however, that’s not often!

It really doesn’t matter what sort of dish you use, as long as it’s ovenproof and it doesn’t need to have a lid.

This roasting pan fits 15 largish tomatoes and around 6 peppers and about a kilo or so of sliced potatoes.

 If you would rather make less, just use a smaller roasting pan and adjust the ingredient amounts accordingly.

 

15 medium to large ripe tomatoes

6 medium green bell peppers

I small bunch of fresh parsley

3 medium onions

I clove of garlic

500 grams Carolina type rice, this is starchy rice, like Arborio, which you can also use.

Roughly 150 – 200 ml olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3-4 tablespoons toasted bread crumbs

 

Method

 

Prepare the vegetables:

Wash the tomatoes and peppers and slice off the tops (don’t throw them away, it’s best to pop them back on the hollowed out tomatoes and peppers as you go, it saves time later trying to find which top fits which tomato!).

With a knife, carefully score around the top of the tomato and then gently remove all the flesh with a spoon, try not to make any holes, the tomato juice needs to stay inside to ensure the rice cooks correctly.

Save the tomato flesh, seeds and juice in a bowl and when you’ve taken the insides out of all the tomatoes, puree it in a blender.

Repeat the process with the peppers, to make sure you don’t leave any seeds; give them a quick swill under the tap once they are empty.

Peel the onions and garlic, chop finely. (I have an IZZY multi blender, a small blender I couldn’t live without, roughly chop the onions into large pieces, toss in the garlic clove and give it whizz, magic!)

Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters length wise.

 

 

Preparing the rice filling

 

Put the rice into a bowl, along with the chopped onion and garlic.

Wash the fresh parsley and chop finely, use a pair of kitchen scissors, why waste time with chopping boards and dangerous sharp knives!

 Add the chopped parsley to the rice.

Stir in about 2 cups of the tomato puree and half a cup of olive oil.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well.

Now some say you should cook the rice mixture, in a frying pan, before filling the tomatoes and peppers, I have done this, I can honestly say and my family will vouch for me, the end result of the dish, tastes no different than if you fill the vegetables without cooking the rice mixture.

Why make extra work for yourself?

Anyway, this is the way my mother-in-law made it, without cooking the rice beforehand.

 

Stuffing the tomatoes and peppers

 

 

Place the tomatoes and peppers in the roasting pan and with a spoon, half fill the tomatoes and peppers with the rice mixture, don’t over fill as the rice expands during cooking and will burst out all over!

Pour tomato juice over the rice, to the top of each vegetable and then pour on a small amount of olive oil, replace tops on all vegetables.

 

 

Place the sliced potatoes, upright, amongst the tomatoes and peppers.

Mix together the remaining tomato puree and olive oil and pour over the tomatoes and peppers.

Sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs over the tops of each tomato and pepper.

This prevents them burning during cooking.

 

 

Place in the oven and cook at 180 degrees centigrade, uncovered, for 1 to one and a half hours, or until vegetables and potatoes are nicely browned.

Remove from oven, leave to cool for a while, they taste better this way.

 

 

Serve with feta cheese, crusty fresh bread and crack open a bottle of wine.

Kali orexi!  Bon Appétit, enjoy!