The tastiest gemista recipe (Greek stuffed peppers and tomatoes)

Want to know how to cook gemista like the very best you’ve had on your holiday to Greece? Otherwise known as stuffed peppers and tomatoes, this dish is a Greek classic dish that’s stayed popular for good reason. It’s healthy, it’s filling, it’s authentic, it’s amazingly tasty… and it makes fantastic leftovers!

What’s gemista?

Go to any Greek taverna and you’ll find gemista / yemista (pronounced ‘yemist-ah’ and meaning ‘stuffed’!) on the menu.

Traditional Greek stuffed vegetables are part of the ‘ladera’ (pronounced ‘lather-ah’) group of dishes. This word comes from the Greek word for oil – extra virgin olive oil, of course!

Ladera are usually vegetarian and cooked with lots of good quality olive oil and often tomatoes and garlic as well. Which makes them vegan! Unless of course you add meat and feta cheese, like I do… whoops.

But it’s OK because there are as many versions of this recipe as there are restaurants and households in Greece. Everyone has their own favourite way of making it. You can keep it vegan, if you like.

I tweaked my version until it was the tastiest it could be!

Why this is the best gemista

• I’m not shy about adding plenty of herbs and spices, so it’s REALLY tasty.
• Like all good authentic Greek dishes, this recipe has got plenty of good quality olive oil in it. It makes a big difference to the taste!
• The recipe makes a large amount – enough for 6 to 8 people. It’s an easy recipe, but it takes a bit of time. It’s worth it though! We have it for dinner twice and there are still leftovers to freeze for another time.
• The recipe makes enough rice filling to make the meal twice. I usually freeze half for the next time I make gemista.
• With the potatoes tucked between the stuffed vegetables and the yummy tomato sauce poured over the top, this is a balanced one pan meal. Just serve with feta and crusty bread. No need for time consuming side dishes!
• This is a very versatile recipe. You can replace the meat with lentils, You can use different vegetables like zucchini/courgette or eggplant. You can add pine nuts and/or sultanas or raisins to the stuffing.

What ingredients do you need?

This is one of the longest ingredients lists you’ll find here on Scrummy Lane.

But don’t worry. A lot of the ingredients are herbs, spices and other flavourings. It might take a while to gather everything together, but as I said, it’s worth it 😉

PEPPERS/CAPSICUM AND TOMATOES: Use the biggest, reddest tomatoes you can find! I often use green peppers because they’re easy to find and often cheap, but yellow, red and orange are great too.

OLIVE OIL: You need more than you would think (but trust me) for the sauce, and more for cooking. Use a really good quality extra virgin olive oil. Preferably Greek! It makes all the difference to the final taste.

TOMATO SAUCE: Pouring loads of easy tomato sauce all over the dish before you cook it takes it from good to absolutely delicious. All you need is olive oil, tomato puree/paste, garlic, sugar/honey, salt and pepper. Whizz in a food processor with the flesh scooped out of your tomatoes and voila!

RICE AND BEEF FILLING: As well as rice and minced beef, you need grated onion, zucchini and carrot, more garlic, tomatoes and tomato puree. Plus loads of herbs and spices – oregano, allspice, cinnamon, parsley and mint.

POTATOES: Rice AND potatoes? Yep. You need just 2 or 3 to cut into wedges to tuck among the veggies!

TO SERVE: Unless you’re a vegan (in which case see below) you HAVE to serve your gemista with a chunk of feta cheese. Just trust me and try it.

How to make gemista

These delicious mince stuffed tomatoes and peppers are one of those recipes that’s worth the little bit of extra effort.

Here’s the basic (easy, 5 step!) process:

1. Scoop flesh out of tomatoes and dump into food processor with a few more simple pantry ingredients. This will be your sauce for pouring over during cooking.
2. Scoop seeds and ‘bits’ out of peppers. Stand hollowed-out tomatoes and peppers in a big baking dish.
3. Make a simple rice, minced beef, vegetables and herb filling on the stove top. Cook it until the rice is part cooked.
4. Stuff vegetables with rice and meat filling. Tuck potato wedges into the spaces between the stuffed veggies.
5. Pour tomato sauce you made over the top, along with some water, then bake. Serve with a big wedge of feta cheese.

Just like this:

Mix things up a little

As with other traditional Greek recipes like moussaka (you have to try this too!), everyone seems to have their own recipe. It’s sometimes been passed down through many generations!

So don’t be afraid to create your very own perfect recipe. Some recipes leave out the tomato sauce but I think that’s one of the things that makes it so delicious.

• Try stuffing different vegetables such as zucchini/courgette, big onions, mushrooms, or eggplant/aubergine.
• Swap the beef mince out for turkey mince. Or skip the meat altogether. Add more grated vegetables, or replace the meat with cooked lentils or beans.
• Vary the herbs and spices. Add some chopped dill if you like it (about a third to half a bunch) or even coriander.
• Add some pine nuts and/or sultanas or raisins to the filling. Just trust me on this one. I’ve had gemista like this, and it’s amazing!

How to serve gemista

What I think takes my gemista recipe from good to excellent is:

• the large amount of Mediterranean spices and herbs in the filling
• the simple but delicious tomato sauce spooned all over everything
• the big wedge of feta that you serve on the side

Tip: Don’t skip the feta cheese. In fact, be greedy with it. Eat a little bit with every mouthful!

This makes a great family meal, but also a perfect meal for serving to guests. Serve with some fresh crusty bread and red wine and they’ll think you’re serving them a Greek feast!

You can serve it hot or let it cool down a bit and serve it at room temperature like the greeks sometimes do.

Making it ahead, reheating & leftovers!

This is a perfect meal for making ahead. You can literally assemble it to the point where you’d put it in the oven, then keep it in the fridge until about an hour and a half before you’re ready to eat.

Leftover yemista will keep well for a few days in the fridge. You can also freeze it in sealed containers.

This meal reheats well. Just cover and microwave on full power for 5 minutes. Check then microwave again for another 3 to 5 minutes. I know that sounds like a lot but I find the rice filling in the centre sometimes takes a while to reheat properly.

You’ll also find you have quite a lot of the part cooked rice mixture left after stuffing your peppers and tomatoes. I usually freeze it for the next time I’m in the mood for yemista!

How about an appetizer?

If you’re making the gemista for guests, why not serve some halloumi fries or zucchini fries as an appetizer? That’s my idea of a perfect meal!

More scrumptious Greek main meals

• Greek oven baked fish (your new favourite way to cook fish!)
• Baked Greek chicken and potatoes
• Traditional easy moussaka (my favourite!)
• One pan Greek couscous with halloumi (a vegetarian option)
• Greek lamb with lemony garlic potatoes (highly recommended if you’re looking to impress!)
• Greek spinach and feta filo pie (spanakopita)
• Baked Greek chicken orzo (another tasty one pot meal)

Or if you’re just enjoying the whole Greek food vibe in this post, you might like to check out my Greek recipes archives!

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