Gemista - Greek Stuffed Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe tomato
• 1 small green bell pepper (minced)
• 3 garlic cloves (grated or pressed)
• 1 small onion (minced)
• 1 small zucchini (grated)
• 1 tablespoon spearmint leaves (minced)
• 2 tablespoons parsley (minced)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons basil (minced)
• 13-14 tablespoons parboiled rice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes
• 4 medium-sized bell peppers
• 2 medium-large zucchinis
• 1 medium-sized eggplant
• 3 medium-sized potatoes
• 120 ml olive oil
• fine sea salt
• ground pepper
• aluminum foil

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Prepare The Vegetables: ---

2. 2

   Rinse all the veggies. Trim off the stem of the peppers if it's too big and cut the ends of the zucchinis.

3. 3

   Slice off the top of each vegetable (about 1-2cm thick) except the small zucchini, ripe tomato, and pepper that are used for the filling.

4. 4

   Scoop the tomato insides with a pointy tablespoon, into a bowl and set aside.

5. 5

   Prepare the peppers. Remove any seeds and white membranes from the peppers leaving their insides clean.

6. 6

   Prepare the zucchinis. Using a melon baller or a sharp knife, remove most of the inside flesh of the zucchinis and discard it. Leave a 1-2cm thick wall lining.

7. 7

   Place all veggies in a large pan leaving enough space around them to place the potatoes later on.

8. 8

   --- Make The Filling: ---

9. 9

   Preheat oven to 220°C / 430°F.

10. 10

    Grate the tomato insides and the ripe tomato for the filling into a large mixing bowl using a box grater.

11. 11

    Add the remaining ingredients for the filling, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.

12. 12

    Hollow the eggplant the same way you did the zucchini.

13. 13

    Stuff each vegetable using a spoon. Stir the filling after stuffing each vegetable and try to distribute it evenly to all the vegetables. Put the tops back on.

14. 14

    Peel the potatoes, rinse, cut them into thick wedges, then cut each wedge in half.

15. 15

    Add the potatoes all around the veggies to hold them in place.

16. 16

    Drizzle with olive oil on top of the veggies. Season them with salt and pepper. Add also a splash of water to the pan.

17. 17

    Bake for about 1 hour. After the first 20-25 minutes of baking, carefully cover with aluminum foil, to prevent veggies from burning on top. You can taste the rice to see if it's done. If there's still too much water in the pan, uncover it and give a final roast for about 10 minutes.