Greek Gemista: A Flavourful Journey into Greek Comfort Food
Greek cuisine is famous for its vibrant flavours, fresh ingredients, and simple yet comforting dishes. Among the many iconic dishes that have captured the hearts of food lovers around the world, Gemista stands out as a quintessential example of Greek comfort food (and it's my fav!). This traditional dish, which translates to “stuffed” in Greek, features an array of vegetables stuffed with a flavourful mixture of rice, herbs, feta cheese, and sometimes minced meat, then baked to perfection.
Whether served in the summer with fresh tomatoes and peppers or in the colder months with hearty zuchini and eggplant, Gemista embodies the essence of Greek home cooking—heartwarming, aromatic, and full of Mediterranean goodness.
What Is Gemista?
Gemista (pronounced: ye-mee-sta) is a Greek dish made up of vegetables stuffed with a flavourful mixture of rice, herbs, and sometimes minced meat. The most common vegetables used for Gemista are tomatoes, capsiucums, zucchini, and eggplant, though other vegetables like onions and potatoes can also be stuffed. The stuffing is a mix of rice, olive oil, herbs, and seasonings like oregano, dill, parsley, and mint. I love it super herbaceous!
The dish is typically vegetarian in its most traditional form, but Gemista with minced meat (often ground beef or lamb) is also popular, especially in winter months. The stuffed vegetables are then baked in the oven, allowing all the flavours to meld together beautifully, creating a dish that is comforting, hearty, and full of flavour. The natural sweetness of the vegetables, the fragrant rice filling, and the depth of the herbs make Gemista an absolute crowd-pleaser.
There are many variations of Gemista. You can have it vegan, vegetarian, or meat to the rice. Many families have their preferences, and ours is the vegetarian version. We also enjoy the vegan/Lenten version during Lent periods by simply omitting the feta cheese from the recipe.
Vegetables
Tomato and capsicum are the classic vegetables used in Gemista, but you can also use eggplant, grey zucchini, or even vine leaves (even though they’re called Dolmades, they’re also considered Gemista because they’re filled with rice).
Herbs
I love a super herbaceous Gemista loaded with fresh herbs. I always use dill, mint, parsley, and if it’s in season, fennel fronds.
How to cook the rice
I’m often asked, “Don’t you pre- or par-cook the rice?” The answer is, No. All the ingredients are stuffed into the vegetables raw, and all the cooking happens in the oven. The trick is to create steam. The tray of Gemista needs to be very tightly sealed with aluminum foil so the liquids in the tray and in the Gemista mixture can create steam for the rice to cook in.
Rice quantities and size of vegetables
Vegetables always vary in size, so sometimes the quantities can’t always be exact. Depending on the size of your capsicums and tomatoes, you may need more or less rice for this recipe. The general rule of thumb I follow is, 1 heaped tablespoon of rice per tomato and 3 heaped tablespoons of rice per capsicum.
GEMISTA | Authentic Greek Stuffed Vegetables
Mary PolitisIngredients
- 8 capsicums hollowed
- 9 tomatoes hollowed- reserving the flesh
- 5 potatoes or sweet potatoes Cut into wedges
Filling
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups of rice of your choice
- 1 cup of fresh mint
- 1 cup of fresh parsley
- 1 cup of fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 200 g crushed tomatoes
- 3/4 cup water you can add a stock cube diluted to the to make it extra flavourful
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs for sprinkling over the stuffed vegetables
Sauce
- 200 g crushed tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Start by cutting a portion off the top of the capsicums and tomatoes. Scoop out the tomato flesh and place it in a bowl. Cut any larger pieces of the tomato flesh smaller.
- Arrange the hollowed vegetables and potatoes in a baking dish.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the stuffing in the bowl with the tomato flesh. Mix well.
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Stuff each vegetable with the filling.
- Sprinkle a tablespoon of breadcrumbs over the filling of each vegetable. Close with the tomato and capsicum lids.
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and pour it over the potatoes in the tray. Drizzle the tray with extra, extra virgin olive oil.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hours 45 minutes Then, uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the Gemista develops a nice colour.