GEMISTA
(Stuffed Green Peppers & Tomatoes with Rice)
Ingredients
- 5 tomatoes, medium, slightly firm
- 5 green bell peppers
- 5 potatoes, cut into wedges, held in water
- 1 ¼ cup brown rice, bulghur wheat or farro
- 2 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 white onions, finely chopped (by hand or in food processor)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- ½ bunch of dill, finely chopped
- salt and pepper as needed, to taste
Instructions
First, rinse the tomatoes and green peppers and pat them dry using a kitchen towel. Now, take a paring knife, and slice through the top of the tomato lengthwise, creating a little removable top for the tomato. Using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the flesh of the inside of the tomato, leaving some flesh on the walls for structure. Take your ‘tomato guts’ and grate them on the large holes of a box grater, and reserve for later. Then, take your hollowed out tomatoes, and invert them on a sheet tray to drain the excess liquids. Reserve these liquids with the grated tomato flesh. Next, take your green peppers, and just like with the tomato, slice through the top of the pepper lengthwise, creating a little removable top. Remove the seeds and veins, and rinse thoroughly. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat, add your onions and a bit of salt to help leech out the excess moisture, and cook while stirring occasionally until golden. Once your onions are caramelized, add ½ cup of olive oil, stirring to combine with the onions. Once they are fully combined, add the garlic and cook for another minute. Then, add your reserved tomato flesh and juices, and lower your heat, and allow to simmer until the liquids have reduced to 1/3 their original volume. Next, add the rice, ½ cup of vegetable stock, season lightly with salt and with pepper to taste, stir to combine, and allow the mixture to simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Finally, remove the saucepan from the heat, add the parsley and dill, and stir to combine. Using a tablespoon, stuff the tomatoes and peppers with the rice filling (which will appear barely cooked), filling them up 2/3 of the way to allow for the rice to expand as the vegetables cook. Using your removable top, cover your vegetables and place them in a baking pan, using your wedged potatoes as separators. Pour the rest of the vegetable stock and olive oil over the tomatoes and peppers, season lightly with pepper, and bake at 180°C for approximately 45 minutes, until potatoes and rice are tender. Remove from the oven, allow them to cool for 10 minutes, serve and enjoy with a dollop of Greek yogurt Tzatziki sauce!
By chef Maria Loi
