Vegan Greek Stuffed Vegetables (Gemista)

I first had this dish a decade ago one my first trip to Greece specifically in the town of Olympia. The birthplace of the Olympic Games. It was just a day trip on our way back to Athens. We stopped by a small tavern after the morning of sightseeing the ancient ruins. The tavern had a few tables some inside and mostly outside by the sidewalk, the menu was just an A4 sheet paper with a few items. We were hungry after a whole morning spent walking and taking in the rich history of the place. We literally ordered everything just to sample because everything sounded so good. One of the items we ate was Gemista.

Gemista is of course Greek style stuffed veggies. The Gemista we ate was made with tomatoes, onions and, peppers. It was really delicious and I ate most of it. I came back home and had to recreate it, this is what I deduced it down to with the help of some google research of course.

Vegan Greek Stuffed Vegetables (Gemista)

Greek style stuffed tomatoes, onions, and peppers with flavor-packed rice prepared the Mediterranean way.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Mediterranean-Inspired

Keyword Plant-Based Gemista, Vegan Stuffed Vegetables

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 20

Servings filled veggies

Calories 218kcal

Author Meera

Ingredients

For vegetables

3 medium sized onions purple or white colored
3 firm tomatoes beefsteak or largish heirlooms
2 peppers medium sized, you can use any color bell peppers you like
2 globe zucchinis

For filling

3 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing vegetables and later for the stuffing to prevent it from drying
1/4 cup kalamata olives pitted and halved
2 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup chickpeas cooked, or crumbled firm tofu
1/4 cup roasted almonds roughly chopped
1 carrot diced
4 cloves garlic thinly sliced or minced
2 dried figs chopped
300 grams brown rice or quinoa, combination of different grains washed rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
300 ml water or vegetable broth
1 bunch parsley finely chopped
1/3 bunch dill finely chopped
1 sprig Greek oregano or wild oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 small bunch fresh mint finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
sea salt
chili flakes optional to taste I used about a teaspoon
generous amount freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Carefully slice the top and the bottom off the onions tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis to create a stable base. Scoop out most of the inner layers or pulp leaving about 1/4 of the vegetable thickness intact, ( see photo) creating a sturdy shell.
Place them in the baking dish.
Finely chop all of the inner layers of the vegetable you scooped out. Put them in a bowl and set aside.
Put the tomato flesh in a bowl and set aside.

For the filling

Place a pan over high heat and add 2’tablespoons olive oil.
Add your chopped onion, carrot and zucchini and sauté.
Thinly slice the garlic and add it to the pan. Sauté.
Add the vegetable inners and sauté until the vegetables caramelize nicely.
Add a generous amount of salt and freshly ground pepper, since you will be adding the quinoa or grain of your choice, also it needs a good amount of seasoning.
Add the rice or quinoa and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until it turns light golden.
Add the tomato paste and sauté.
Add the 400 ml of water or veggie broth and the reserved tomato flesh. Bring it to a boil and Let it simmer for 15 minutes till,the rice is about 85% cooked.
Finely chop the parsley, dill, oregano and mint leaves and add them to the rice pan. Add caper, almonds, chickpeas or feta, figs or raisins. Mix well with the rice.
Brush vegetables with a generous amount of olive oil, both inside and out and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble

Use a small spoon to help you add the filling to the vegetables. Fill them ¾ of the way because the rice will expand as it finishes cooking.
Add some broth to the pan and drizzle with olive oil.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes depending on the thickness of the veggies.
Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the stuffed vegetables are cooked and golden.
To serve, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, add a few mint leaves and enjoy!