The ultimate summer Greek dish is gemista, especially with pine nuts and raisins instead of minced meat.
Materials:
Eight ripe, firm tomatoes
Eight large peppers
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Three medium onions, grated
Three large cloves of garlic, grated
One medium carrot, grated
One medium zucchini, grated
One medium eggplant, grated
Two cups glutinous rice
One bunch of parsley, chopped
½ bunch of dill, chopped
½ bunch of mint, chopped
Three tsp. of pine nut
3 tsp. raisins
salt, freshly ground pepper
Procedure
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. With a sharp knife, cut a horizontal cap off the tomatoes and peppers and set aside. With a garnish cutter, remove the tomato flesh, grate it into a bowl, and reserve it for the filling. Remove the seeds from the peppers and discard them.
Step 2
Pour half the olive oil into a saucepan, and once it is hot, sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat for 1 minute until they release their aroma. Add the carrot, zucchini and eggplant, stirring constantly with a spatula until the ingredients wilt.
Step 3
Add the rice and 2/3 of the grated tomato and season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil while stirring. Remove the pan from the heat and add the parsley, dill, mint, pine nuts, and raisins. Mix well.
Step 4
Season the insides of the tomatoes and peppers with salt and pepper and fill them with the rice. The filling should have enough liquid to allow the rice to cook and puff up.
Step 5
Place the gemista in an ovenproof dish next to each other. Pour over the rest of the oil, the rest of the grated tomato, and half a glass of water, and cover the pan with parchment paper and aluminium foil.
Step 6
Bake the gemista for 30-40 minutes. Then, remove the greaseproof paper and aluminium foil and bake for another 1 hour until they get a nice colour. Let them rest outside the oven for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve with feta or yoghurt.
Sotiris Evangelou is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
READ MORE: Gazpacho with feta cheese.