Gemista: stuffed tomatoes and peppers with rice

Method

1. 1

   Preparing the vegetables

   Cut the tops off the peppers and tomatoes and scoop out the insides. Keep the tomato flesh, as we will purée it later.

2. 2

   Tomato purée

   Blitz the scooped-out tomato flesh or push it through a sieve until smooth.

   5 min
3. 3

   Toasting the rice and vegetables

   Fry the finely chopped onion in the olive oil, then add the grated courgette and carrot. Next, stir in the rice and toast it a little longer.

   10 min
4. 4

   Making the filling

   Season the rice and vegetable mixture with salt, pepper, parsley and mint. Stir in some of the tomato purée.

5. 5

   Filling and arranging

   Fill the peppers and tomatoes only three-quarters full with the filling. Place them in a baking tin, put the potato pieces between the vegetables and pour the remaining purée into the tin.

6. 6

   Baking

   Bake in an oven at 180–190°C for 1–2 hours, until the vegetables are browned and the liquid has evaporated.

   90 min