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Gemista (Stuffed Peppers)

Stuffed Peppers & Tomatoes
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek

Ingredients
  

  • 8-12 Assorted Large tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, washed, tops cut off, cored, seeds removed, save the caps.
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup olive oil - for final drizzle before baking
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large carrot, finely diced
  • 2 large celery stalks, finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp oregano (Greek is always better)
  • small bunch of parsley, chopped
  • 1-2 sprigs mint, chopped ( optional )
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1 lb Ground meat of your choice.
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup red wine or red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup long grain rice ( not rinsed - we want the starch )
  • 28 oz Crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup Stock or broth, divided. ( can substitute water and a packet of boullion, or just water if you're a heathen )
  • 1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan or similar grated hard cheese ( "optional" )
  • 1 cup tomato sauce, or your favourite pasta sauce
  • 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges ( optional )

Instructions
 

  • Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan and sauté onion and all vegetables for 5-7 min until they start to soften.
  • Add garlic and herbs and season generously with salt and pepper. 1/2 tsp of each is what I like. Start there, and adjust to your tastes the next time you make this.
  • Add your meat and brown it, or if you prefer brown your meat first in a separate pan and then add it (I add it to the vegetables and brown it with them because I find it gets more flavour that way but either way is fine) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute then add the wine if using and continue to sauté and stir until it has reduced.
  • Add diced/crushed tomatoes, rice and broth/water to the pan (add more if sauce gets too thick as needed) stir well, check and season with salt and pepper to taste and let simmer on medium low for 5-10 min until it’s a little thicker and the rice is almost cooked through. Stir in the cheese if using and then remove from heat and set aside.
  • Meanwhile clean and cut the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and ribs.
  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Prepare your pan or casserole dish. Pour the passata and water/broth onto the bottom of pan and then place the peppers into pan cut side up so that they are ready to stuff.
  • Stuff all the peppers & tomatoes. Feel free to overstuff them because even if they are overfilled it will just add to the sauce at the bottom of pan (if you have extra stuffing it makes a great lunch bowl so don’t stress if you have any left over).
  • Put the tops on the peppers and toss in the chopped potatoes around the peppers (if using potatoes).
  • Drizzle with remaining ¼ cup of olive oil over the peppers and season with salt and pepper.
  • Cover with lid or foil tightly and roast for 30-45 minutes depending on size of peppers.* Then increase temperature to 375°F, remove foil and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes until edges are slightly charred, and peppers are softened and withered and you can cut through them easily with a knife.
  • Remove from oven, let cool for a few min and serve with some of the sauce at the bottom of the pan along with potatoes and serve with olives and feta on the side.

Notes

  • The size and thickness of the peppers will determine how much time is needed for them to cook through fully. So the cooking time can vary accordingly.
  • If you would like to roast your peppers (unstuffed) before filling to reduce overall baking time you can do that just place them on a baking sheet after you have sliced the tops off and removed the seeds and roast for 10-15 minutes at 350°F while you make the sauce. Or another option is to blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes to cook/soften them slightly before filling. Either way works just make sure to allow them to cool slightly before filling so it’s easier to handle them.
  • Feel free to use whatever veggies you have in the filling. You can also do just veggies as lots of herbs and rice instead of ground meat.
  • When it comes to the sauce at the bottom of the pan – you can use any tomato sauce you have on hand. Tomato passata is something I usually have on hand but feel free to spice it up a bit by adding spices to it or chopped garlic and more seasoning. If you don’t like the addition of the sauce do replace it with water or broth alone. The liquid from the sauce or water/broth helps the peppers to cook or steam so make sure to include one or the other.
  • When it come to the cheese feel free to add more or omit according to taste. I have made it adding feta and even mozzarella before and leaving the pepper caps off. The caps keep the rice from drying out too much so if you decide to cook them with them off keep that in mind.
  • Some versions include 1/4 cup pine nuts and 2-3 tbsp raisins in the filling, but I'm more of a traditionalist.