Gemista – Greek Stuffed vegetables with rice
Vegetables stuffed with rice is very representative of traditional Greek cuisine. Of course, it would be unthinkable in Greece to serve this dish without adding a generous quantity of feta cheese! Sweet Peppers and/or zucchinis can of course be used instead of eggplants. Adding 2 tablespoons of pine nuts and raisins is a delicious alternative.
Ingredients
- 6 large tomatoes
- 4 medium eggplants
- 2 Tbsp ketchup
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1¼ cup olive oil
- 1 cup grated onion
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1½ cup short grain rice
- ⅔ cup chopped parsley
- 2 Tbsp dried mint
- 2 large potatoes
- Feta, for garnish (opt.)
Method
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1
Heat the oven to 390 °F.
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2
Wash the tomatoes and eggplants well. Slice the top off each tomato – set aside the top, and carefully remove the inner flesh with a spoon. Repeat with eggplants.
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3
Put the vegetable flesh in a food processor and puree. Stir in ketchup and tomato paste and mix well.
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4
Heat a pot on medium-high. Add half of oil and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetable puree, salt, pepper and boil gently for 10 minutes.
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5
Remove from heat and set ⅓ of the sauce aside.
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6
Mix the remaining ⅔ of the sauce with rice, parsley and mint.
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7
Fill the vegetables to ¾ with the rice mixture. Transfer to a cooking pan and cover them with their sliced off tops.
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8
Peel and cut the potatoes into wedges. Place them between the tomatoes and eggplants.
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9
Spread the remaining sauce and the rest of the oil on the vegetables, making sure each vegetable is well covered.
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10
Cook in the oven for 1h45. Check from time to time and add a little water to the pan if needed. There should be some sauce remaining at the end.
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11
Serve with crumbled feta cheese if desired.
