Greek Stuffed Vegetables (Yemista)

When you make this dish for the first time you realise how quite simple yet special it really is.  The rice and meat make it quite a filling and wholesome meal yet the vegetables provide you with essential nutrients.  You can easily turn this into a vegetarian dish by swapping the beef with lentils or chickpeas.

 

Created by on July 5, 2021

Ingredients

  • 8 tomatoes
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 6 red or green capsicums
  • 2 red onions, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 250 grams beef mince
  • 250 grams white basmati rice
  • 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  • a small bunch of parsley, chopped
  • Dried Oregano
  • salt and freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil

Instructions

  1. To prepare this delicious Greek stuffed vegetables recipe, start by washing your vegetables.
  2. Slice off the top of the tomatoes; using a spoon remove the flesh of the tomatoes.
  3. Slice off the top of the peppers and remove the seeds and white parts from the inside.
  4. Place the empty vegetables on a large baking tray. Try to leave the vegetables as thin as possible, leaving just a little of the flesh, but be careful not to poke through their skin.
  5. Season the empty vegetables with a pinch of salt and pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil on the bottom of each one.
  6. In a pan add some olive oil and sauté the onions and beef mince until translucent. Chop the zucchini in small cubes, add in the saucepan and sauté for one more minute. Add the flesh of the tomatoes (chopped) and the chopped garlic and sauté, until softened. Add the rice and continue sautéing, until it becomes transculent.
  7. Pour in 1 tin of chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper and add 1/2 teaspoon sugar. As soon as the liquid has been absorbed, the stuffing is ready. Remove the pan from the stove.
  8. Spoon the filling inside the empty vegetables and place the potatoes, cut into long wedges, in between the vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil all over the stuffed veggies and potatoes and season with the oregano.
  9. Cover the vegetables with their lids and add 3 glasses of water.
  10. Cover the stuffed vegetables with aluminium foil and bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 60-75 minutes. Halfway through cooking time remove the aluminium foil and bake, until nicely coloured.