Stuffed tomatoes and peppers with rice (Gemista)

Stuffed tomatoes and peppers with rice (Gemista)
4.3/5 rating (9 votes)

  • Serves: 6
  • Complexity: difficult

Ingredients

  • tomatoes: 6, ripe and firm
  • green bell peppers: 6
  • olive oil: 1½ cup
  • onion: 1, finely chopped
  • pine nuts: 50g
  • long-grain rice: 12 level tablespoons
  • parsley: ½ cup
  • black raisins: 20g
  • dried breadcrumbs: 1-2 tablespoons
  • potatoes: 3
  • salt
  • pepper freshly ground

Directions

  1. Slice the tops off the tomatoes and the peppers. Empty the flesh of the tomatoes with a teaspoon and save it. Remove the seeds from the peppers.

  2. Heat 2/3 of the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions for 6-7 minutes. Add the pine nuts and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the finely chopped flesh of the tomatoes, the rice, the parsley, the raisins and salt and pepper. Stir for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.

  3. Stuff the tomatoes and peppers with the rice mixture (not to the rim, because the rice will expand when cooked) and cover with the sliced-off tops of the vegetables. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle with dried breadcrumbs. Cut the potatoes and fill the gaps in the pan. Then pour over the remaining olive oil and a little bit of water. Cook at 180 oC for 1 hour.

Tips

Gemista (pronounced as yemista) is an all time classic dish. Once you put them in the oven you will get the most “summerish” cooking smell in your home. You can use only tomatoes if you don’t like the peppers.