Gemista (or yemista – γεμιστα) – stuffed vegetables – is a traditional Greek recipe that is the perfect summer dish, using in-season vegetables. The tomatoes are from my garden – can’t get any fresher than that!
My mom shared her recipe with me, and now I’m sharing with you! Some Greek cooks add ground beef, or feta, but I prefer this simple vegetarian version.
Greek Stuffed Vegetables – Gemista
Ingredients
3 zucchini, cut in half
4-5 tomatoes
3 eggplants
2-3 peppers
For the filling:
1 large onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato puree (or sauce)
2 tbsp sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups rice – I use parboiled rice
4-5 potatoes
Method
Cut the tops of the tomato and peppers and set aside. Scoop out insides of tomatoes and set aside in a bowl. Strain the tomato juice in a separate bowl, and chop the tomato chunks.
Scoop the insides of the eggplant and zucchini, and chop into small chunks, or add to a food processor and set aside. Tip – use knife at first to loosen, then use a spoon to scoop.
In a pan over medium heat, add ½ cup olive oil. Add chopped onion for a few minutes until soft, and add garlic to soften for a minute.
Then, add all chopped vegetables, parsley to cook for a few minutes. Add chopped tomatoes with tomato juice, and tomato puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5-7 minutes until soft. Let cool.
Rinse 1 ½ cups parboiled rice. Stir rice into the veggie mixture until well blended. Fill the vegetables with the rice mixture until full, using a spoon.
Cut 4-5 small potatoes into fours. Add to a large roasting pan in between the stuffed vegetables.
Once vegetables are filled and tops placed back, sprinkle olive oil over the stuffed vegetables, and season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 350 degrees with lid on for the first hour. Then take off lid for remaining time – about another ½ hour to 1 hour.
12 Comments
YES PLEASE! I have never head of this before, but it sounds like a really nice compliment to any meal. I need to try these.
This dish looks wonderful! I really have to try my hand at making it. Pinning so I can come back when I’m ready to make it.
This recipe looks absolutely amazing. I make a stuffed pepper filled with a zucchini/tomato/cheese/orzo mixture and it is just to die for. Love the flavors of the Mediterranean.
This dish looks so amazing! I would love to fill this pot with fresh garden vegetables!
The dish and recipe seem simple to make…I mess up stuff peppers most of the time. Love the way the you incorporate the greek flares into eggplant sauce mixture of tomatoes, rice and pepper..I am hungry. Thanks for sharing!
This stuffed vegetables look very yummy. I think my husband would like it and it looks easy to prepare!
They look so good. This is perfect for lunch! Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely try this.
This dish looks fantastic!! I wanna grab this from my screen lol, I love eating lot vegetables.
Yum. This looks amazing. I’ve never had anything like this before but I know for a fact this would be a huge hit in my house! It looks delicious.
Well those just LOOK amazing. I bet they taste even better. I’d make these here. A great way to up the ante on the veggies.
I love vegetables and that looks totally delicious. It looks so easy to do. I need to try this.
These stuffed vegetables would be a great us of all the veggies from my garden!! I love greek flavors and fresh seasonal vegetables 🙂