Gemista: Greek stuffed vegetables with rice and meat

5 from 1 vote

Gemista: Greek stuffed vegetables with rice and meat

If you’ve never tried Gemista, you’re missing one of Greece’s most beloved comfort foods. These Greek stuffed vegetables with rice and meat taste like summer in a Greek village! For the meatless version (vegetarian Gemista), please see this recipe for Greek stuffed peppers and tomatoes.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time1 30

Resting Time30

Total Time3 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Servings: servings

Calories: 624kcal

Author: Makos

Ingredients

½ cup pine nuts optional
⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ cup short grain rice soaked for 20' and drained. See note#1
10.6 oz ground beef lean
1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
1 teaspoon cumin ground
½ cup white wine
4 large tomatoes
4 large bell peppers various colors
2 eggplant
2 peppers Bull's horn peppers, red or green
1 zucchini
1 onion
½ bunch fresh parsley
½ bunch fresh spearmint or mint
4 teaspoons fine sea salt
½ cup sultana raisins or golden raisins, chopped, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Before you start working, soak the rice in a large bowl with cold water for 20 minutes, then rinse and drain well.
While the rice is soaking, transfer the pine nuts and 1-2 teaspoons of the olive oil to a large pot and sauté over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside.
👉 Pine nuts can burn easily, so stir continually and keep the heat to low/medium.
In the same pot, transfer the ground beef and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sauté on high heat. Stir well with a wooden spoon to break any lumps (I've heard that a whisk can do a better job at breaking the lumps) then stir until the meat is golden brown.
Reduce heat to medium and add the black pepper and the cumin. Stir for a minute, then deglaze with the white wine. Cook until the wine is evaporated, then remove the pot from the stove.
👉 If you haven't drained the rice by now, it should be ready.
Cut the top of each vegetable with a sharp knife.
👉 Don't cut straight across horizontally. Instead, angle the knife toward the center. This helps you get the maximum volume out of each vegetable.
Using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out the insides of the bell peppers and the eggplant into the bowl of a food processor or food chopper. Scrape carefully to remove as much flesh as possible without damaging the outer shell.
Process the flesh until finely chopped and transfer to a large measuring jug or bowl.
Process the zucchini, the parsley, the mint and the onion until finely chopped and transfer to the measuring jug.
Do the same with the tomatoes: Hollow them out and puree their flesh, then add the tomato pulp to the measuring jug.
Measure the volume of the pureed vegetables. It should be 4 times the volume of the rice (before soaking). If it's less, add as much water as needed. (For 1.25 cups rice you'll need 5 cups of pureed vegetables)
Transfer the pureed vegetables to the pot with the ground meat, and add the rice, the salt, the pine nuts, half of the remaining olive oil and the raisins. Mix well to combine.
👉 This is a good time to preheat your oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
Using a spoon, stuff the vegetables with the rice mixture, leaving about ½ inch (1 cm) of space at the top, as the rice will expand during baking.
If you have any filling left, transfer it to a ramekin and cover with foil (or stuff one more pepper).
Arrange the vegetables in your baking pan, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and bake uncovered for about 1 hour 30 minutes. Taste for doneness at 1 hour 15 minutes.
Let them rest in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving (this allows the filling to absorb the juices evenly).
👉 Only cover them with aluminum foil if they start to brown too much before they’re fully cooked.

Video

Notes

Baking dish: A rectangular pan 10x13.5 inches (25x35 cm) or similar.

Note #1: Recommended short grain rice types: Arborio, Carnaroli, Greek Karolina or Nyxaki (Nihaki).

👉 Buy 1-2 more peppers in case you have any leftover filling.

👉 If you don't have a food processor or a food chopper you can also use a box grater or a food mill.

👉 Exact baking time will depend on your oven, the type of the pan and the size of the vegetables.

👉 The flesh of the vegetables is full of water which will help the rice to cook. The grated vegetables should be 4 times the volume of the rice (before soaking). So for 1.25 cups rice you'll need 5 cups of grated vegetables (eggplant, tomatoes, onion, zucchini, etc.)

👉 To make this Greek dish easier, use bell peppers only (whatever color you like) since they're much easier to prepare. You'll still have to use some eggplant, zucchini and the tomatoes for the filling.

👉 An easier way to stuff the eggplant is to lay it horizontally and cut a thin slice from the top (it will look like a small boat).

👉 If there are any large gaps between the vegetables you can fill them with potatoes cut in wedges.

👉 Serve with feta cheese, a Horiatiki salad or tzatziki sauce.

Nutrition