Gemista
If you've got large tomatoes, short-grain rice and potatoes, you're most of the way to this Greek vegan: about 70 minutes of cooking across 7 steps. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for oven and large pot. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (5)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 190 C, slice a lid off the top of each tomato and pepper, and carefully scoop the flesh from the tomatoes into a bowl, keeping the hollow shells intact for stuffing.
- Chop the reserved tomato pulp, then saute the finely diced onions and garlic in half the olive oil for about 8 minutes until soft, and stir in the rice so it gets coated in the oil.
- Add the tomato pulp, tomato paste, sugar, chopped parsley and mint, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes so the rice takes up some liquid but stays well undercooked.
- Lightly salt the inside of each hollowed vegetable, spoon in the filling until about three quarters full to leave room for the rice to swell, and set the cut lids back on top.
- Arrange the stuffed vegetables snugly in a baking dish, tuck peeled potato wedges into the gaps, drizzle everything with the remaining olive oil and pour a cup of water into the base of the dish.
- Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes, then uncover and roast for another 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is fully tender, the tops are lightly charred and the potatoes are golden.
- Let the gemista rest for 15 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature with crumbled feta and bread.
You'll use: Oven Β· Large pot Β· Saucepan Β· Baking dish
What to serve with Gemista
- Garides Saganaki Seafood
- Moussaka Beef
- Honey Yogurt Cheesecake Dessert
- Stuffed Lamb Tomatoes Lamb
Tips & common questions
How long does Gemista take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Gemista vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
Gemista is an original Greek recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Gemista 2020.jpg by NikosLikomitros, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.