Yemista or Gemista

Ingredients

• 12-15 vegetables to stuff (assortment of peppers, tomatoes, small eggplants, zucchini)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions ((both white and green parts))
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or you can replace by chopped fresh mint)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 cups mixed shredded zucchini, and carrots
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 cups uncooked medium grain rice
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• sugar
• 1 1/2 cups reserved tomato pulp
• tomato sauce (if needed)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (can also use olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Potatoes (optional)
• water (if needed)

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. 2

   Start by washing and preparing your vegetables

3. 3

   Hollow out your peppers by removing seeds and ribbing. Keep lids to the side. Place peppers and lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water for approximately 10 minutes. This will help soften the vegetables. Drain after 10 minutes, and rinse with cold water.

4. 4

   Prepare tomatoes by cutting off lids and scooping out the insides. Remove as many as the seeds as possible, and blend the tomato pulp you have scooped out, measure, and set aside. Add enough tomato sauce, if necessary, to make 1 1/2 cups.

5. 5

   Prepare zucchini. Cut off the stem ends and then with a small pairing knife cut out a pyramid shaped piece of zucchini. These will act as “stoppers” to keep the filling from falling out. Set aside. With a spoon or butter knife or apple corer, begin to carefully cut through the zucchini, being careful not to pierce and break the skin. (If you do…it’s really not the end of the world). Follow the same procedure for the eggplant. Place the zucchini and eggplant shells in a bowl, cover with boiling water for approximately 10 minutes. Drain, then rinse with cold water.

6. 6

   Finely chop the zucchini innards, and place in a bowl. Grate 1 medium size carrot, add to the bowl and measure everything. You will need a total of 2 cups. If you fall short (which you likely will), shred some zucchini and carrots until you reach the desired amount of 2 cups.

7. 7

   To prepare filling, heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large pot and add onion. Cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes and until the onion is softened, being careful not to burn it.

8. 8

   Combine the parsley, garlic, green onions, dill, paprika, shredded and chopped zucchini/carrots, tomato sauce, rice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir well to combine, add to the pot with onions and cook until just heated through. Remove from heat and set aside.

9. 9

   Begin stuffing vegetables with filling. Be careful not to pack the filling in too tightly or to the top, and ensure that there is some liquid from the filling added to each vegetable stuffed. When stuffing tomatoes, add 1/2 teaspoon white sugar to the bottom of each tomato shell before stuffing it. According to our folks, this is essential, especially, when the tomatoes are not fresh from the garden.

10. 10

    Once the vegetables are stuffed, top them with their lids and stoppers. Place vegetables in a roasting pan. If you find that you have extra space between vegetables, fill it with potatoes that you have peeled and cut into thick chunks.

11. 11

    Mix the reserved 1 1/2 cups of tomato pulp with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, add the 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and pour into roasting pan. We use a 15 inch round roasting pan.

12. 12

    Bake in a 375 degree oven for about two hours. If you find that the liquid in your pan has evaporated during the cooking process, add some water.

13. 13

    Let cool and serve.

14. 14

    Enjoy.