Stuffed vegetables - aka gemista
Well, if yours truly was to choose one favourite greek dish of all times, that would be it. Not that the choice is easy, of course, but these rice stuffed summer veggies are truly something to long summer for.
Made with ripe tomatoes, zucchinni, eggplants, red bell or green peppers, gemista, literally meaning "stuffed", are the true greek summer food ambassador.
This is one of the many originally vegan dishes of the traditional greek cuisine, highlighting seasonal eating, and how simple, humble, great quality ingredients can make an amazing end result.
Ingredients (serves 4):
6 medium super ripe tomatoes, 2 of them pureed
4 medium zucchinis
4 red bell peppers - we always prefer these to green peppers due to their natural sweetness, yet you can use whatever you have on hand
Any veg can be substituted with eggplant or potato-yes they both can be stuffed!
15 large spoonfuls of risotto rice
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped
3 medium onions, chopped
Loads of your Vendema EVOO
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt and pepper
Juice from 1 lemon
Do the magic:
This requires a bit time, yet it's simple straightforward and can include the whole family in the recipe preparation!
Preheat your oven in 200C.
Get a large and deep pan sheet ready.
Remove the top lid from your tomatoes, zucchinis, peppers, etc and empty their inside part in a large bowl, using a spoon. Be careful to carve, yet not damage the shape of the vegetables, as we want them intact to be stuffed. Collect all the fillings and add the carrots, the parsley and the pureed tomatoes.
Get a large pan on medium to high heat and cover the bottom with your Vendema EVOO. Sauté the onions until softened, add the risotto rice and continue shearing it for a couple of minutes. Add the vegetable fillings along with all the other ingredients and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the rice seems to have absorbed most of the liquids. Our goal here is not to fully cook the rice, as it will be thoroughly cooked in the veggies, getting their flavour and juices.
Lay your veggies on your pan sheet, take the lids off, salt, pepper and sugar them up. Fill each vegetable with the rice filling and put the lid on. Drizzle all veggies with plenty of Vendema EVOO - and we couldn't mean the word "plenty" more! Complete your work of art with a 250ml of water directly into the pan, cover it and place it in the oven. Let it cook covered for about 70 minutes, and another 10 minutes lid-off.
Enjoy with some feta, whipped ricotta or greek yogurt!
