Greek Stuffed Vegetables (Gemista) | Vegan Recipe

Today we're going to make one of my favorite classic Greek dishes. This is the dish I make when I want to channel my inner yaya and when I'm in the mood for something super rustic and super comforting. It's yamista or Greek stuffed veggies. This is actually a super impressive dish that is easier to make than most people think. It has three components, the veggies that we're going to stuff, we have potatoes that are going to be cut up into wedges, and then we have the stuffing and the star of that is basmati rice that's been rinsed and you need to soak it for a little bit before you get started. That way it cooks evenly in the oven. So I'm going to start by cutting up the potatoes into wedges. So these have been already peeled and kept in water so they're not browned. And I'm just going to cut them up into wedges. And if you've ever thought that veggies couldn't be the main dish, this will show you that they absolutely can. This is a meal that you can make year-round and use whatever veggies you have on hand. So I happen to have some bell peppers and tomatoes, they need to be nice and large because you're going to stuff them. So what I like to do for the peppers is just to go around the top and you're going to just kind of make a nice big opening at the top. And all you have to do is just twist it open, voila, okay? Remove the seeds. We're going to use the tops so we're not going to get rid of it. So I go around and clean up anything that shouldn't be there. You'll want to have your prepared dish, your pan or whatever you're going to bake in ready for you. And I'm just going to drizzle with a little bit of some good Greek extra virgin olive oil. You know where to get it, TheMediterraneanDish.com of course. Just hit the shop tab when you get there. Brushing the pan with olive oil. Keep the tops available to you. We're going to leave them for now, no big deal. And we're going to come back to this whole party in just a minute. Very easy, just make a nice opening on top, about half an inch or so on the top. And you're going to pull any ribs or so that are in there. You kind of make a little hat for it, isn't that cute? And I find that large bell peppers are the easiest thing to stuff. There's not much to deal with here. And then the tomatoes, okay? And for this, you want to kind of grab some larger tomatoes. They need to be not too hard, not too soft, just enough when you kind of squeeze on them. But they do need to hold their own. So don't use something that is like way too ripe. Because it's going to be in the oven for quite a bit. So for this one, to core the tomato, you're going to go ahead and go around the top. And you might have to go a tad deeper because you want to kind of pull this out. And there's some flesh that comes out with it. So here's that. And you're going to use this part, so don't do anything with it. And what you want to do is work with a small spoon because you don't want to injure the tomato on the outside. And you're going to loosen the flesh off the skin. And don't worry, no waste here. This is a Greek recipe. Greek yoyas do not waste. So we're going to go around, we're going to use this flesh. This is where I'm going to make my stuffing and we're going to use the tomato flesh in the stuffing. And here it is. Voila! Here we go. Going in again and just cleaning up. And I'm careful not to make a hole in the tomato skin. All this juice, dump it right in this bowl. And now my tomato is ready. Here we go. And we're keeping this as well. So we're going to set that right here. The tomato flesh you chop up if it's not fully juiced. And then again, we are going to go right in this bowl. We're going to start working on the filling with my basmati rice and it's very important to know you need to be using basmati rice because it is a faster cooking rice. The rice needs to be able to break easily between your fingers, just like so. So I'm going to drain it real fast. Dump your rice, no big deal. And if the rice is still somewhat juicy, it's okay. Just make sure you drain it as much as you can. And I'm seeing a little bit more liquid than I need, so I'm going to go ahead and drain some more. I don't want my rice to be soggy, but I want it to cook perfectly. So there is a balance, I suppose. You want some liquid to steam the rice, but you don't want too much of it. So we have a nice, big, large onion that's been chopped. That goes right in here. Then we have a couple of herbs. I'm using mint and parsley. If you want to use just parsley, that's fine. I think the mint adds a little touch. Then we have some garlic. I'm going to do a couple of garlic cloves right in here and then a couple for my sauce later. A little bit of Spanish paprika. Gorgeous. About a half a teaspoon or so. And then I'm using our Greek oregano, and if you haven't tried it, you've got to check it out. MediterraneanDish.com. Hit the shop tab, look at Greek oregano because it is so vibrant and the flavor is just exceptional. I mean, look at this mound of goodness already. And then, optional, but I think unless you're vegan, please put some feta in it because feta makes it better. Not too much salt if you've used some feta, but you do need a little seasoning. You've got a lot going on here, so you need some seasoning. Salt and pepper. A drizzle of some good Greek extra virgin olive oil. Nice drizzle to pull this whole party together. And then you're going to want to mix it really well. There are many, many yummy style recipes and many, many different vegetables you can use. I've seen people use zucchini, eggplant. You name it, we stuff it. All right, so most everything is ready now. The fun begins. You just need to assemble these. So all you have to do now is just stuff your veggies. Just a word to the wise, you want to go three quarters of the way, almost all the way, but like leave some room, okay? Because the rice is going to cook, it's going to expand, so you want to just give it that room. If you stuff it too much and it's too packed in here, it may not cook very well. So you want to give it that room so it will expand and cook evenly. So this is what I like to do here. All right, and if you are into feta cheese, crumble a little bit more at the top and put the head back on. Take another pepper. Here you go. Don't try pushing down or packing it too much. Just make sure you fill it up three quarters of the way or whatever. Just leave some room for the rice to breathe and cook evenly, for the steam to do its magic. So every time I make this dish, I really do think of Greece, the hospitality of the people and just they make everything with intention and abundance and generosity. And this dish is really just that. But you'll see, it's very impressive in the end. It's one that I make whenever I feel like pulling out all the stops, when I feel like really an impressive dish that people always go like, wow. Just make sure you have the time for the oven to do its magic, but the actual hands-on experience is not that bad. So now you have your veggies. You want to make sure that you have some room. You're going to add your potatoes in between. And don't worry, it's all going to cook very nicely because like I said, you're going to have it in the oven for a while. So another pinch of kosher salt on the outside and on the potatoes especially. Remember we had a little bit more garlic, that's for the potatoes. Yeah, flavor party, man. A little bit more oregano as well for the potato. I have a cup of crushed tomatoes that I'm going to just go ahead and pour all over this party. And then a little bit of water, about a half a cup or so. So I'm going to use the same dish and get my water. Really the hard part's over. All we have to do is a nice big generous drizzle of some good extra virgin olive oil all over the veggies. Doesn't this look like a flavor party already? We're going to tent our foil on top, trying not to touch the veggies, making room. But what we want to do is we want to make sure we are trapping the steam in order to cook the veggies. So we're going in the oven, 375 degrees, covered for about an hour. And then we're going to check back on it. All right, let's see. Oh, that's what I'm talking about. The peppers need to be super soft, collapsed, charred, all the good stuff. That looks gorgeous. So it did take about a half hour to 45 minutes after you uncover it and leave it in the oven until you see this. This is exactly what you're looking for, rustic, gorgeous. I can't wait to dig in. When you cut into it, the herby delicious rice stuffing or filling should just be coming right at you. It should not be sticky. It should be beautiful and fully cooked through. So let's see. It's hot, but so good. It's perfect. Greek comfort food at its finest. Very much. I feel like my yaya would be so proud. Grab the recipe for these gorgeous Greek stuffed veggies over on TheMediterraneanDish.com. And if you are into Greek food, definitely check out the next video. I will see you later. Ciao.