June 25, 2014Ashley Korizis
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours
Serves: 4 people
Stuffed peppers and tomatoes, better known as “yemista” in Greek, is a hugely popular dish and best enjoyed in the summer. The quality of the tomatoes significantly influences the dish and winter grown hot house tomatoes pale bycomparison to thoseripenedin the sun.
The secret weapon in this recipe is the mint – when combined with onion, olive oil, and tomato, a particular flavor profile is createdthat is delicious and addictive. Fresh mint is best for this recipe but dried mint works as well in a pinch.
Enjoy these stuffed peppers and tomatoes as is or serve with a generous slice of feta.
Ingredients
- 4 large tomatoes
- 4 small bell peppers
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 1 cup medium grain rice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoonsfresh mint or 1 tablespoon dry mint
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 large yukon gold potato
Preparation
Preparing the Peppers and Tomatoes
- Wash the peppers and tomatoes
- Remove the tops of the peppers and the seeds
- Do the same with the tops of the tomatoes, carve out the pulp with a spoon, and place in a blender
- Place the peppers and tomatoes in the baking pan and sprinkle the inside of the vegetables with 1 teaspoons salt
Making the Filling for the Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
- Peel, cut, and combine the onion, garlic, mint, and fresh tomato in the blender
- Blend until smooth and pour into a large bowl
- Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup rice, 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, and stir until well combined
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of rice into each pepper and tomato. It may not look like much at first but the rice will expand as it cooks and it is key that you not overstuff the vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
- Spoon 4 tablespoons of the tomato mixture into the vegetables. It is important to keep the rice to liquid ratio around 1 to 4
- Depending on the size of your vegetables, you may need to add a little more rice and liquid. Simply make sure you keep the 1 to 4 rice to liquid ratio when doing so
- Place the caps back on the peppers and tomatoes
- Peel and cut the potato into 4 or 6slices lengthwise and place around the peppers and tomatoes
- Pour the remaining rice and liquid into the baking dish, taking care to disburse the rice evenly throughout the pan. If needed, stir around with a spoon.
- Depending on the size of your baking pan, you may need to add a cup of water. The liquid will evaporate during the cooking process and the larger the exposed surface area of the liquid, the more will be lost from evaporation. As a general rule, try to keep the tomatoes covered half way. In the case of the below illustration, it would have been best to add an additional cup of water bringing the liquid up to the blue line
Baking Your Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
- Drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil over the dish
- Place in the middle rack of the oven
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes until the tops of the peppers and tomatoes are slightly charred
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 90 minutes
- Tip: If you notice the rice in the pan becoming too dry (it should resemble a creamy risotto), you can add in a cup of water torestore some of the moisture
- It is better to overcook than undercook this dish. If in doubt, you can always bake for anadditional 15-30 minutes
Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes
June 25, 2014Ashley Korizis
- Prep time: 45 minutes
- Cook time: 2 hours
- Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
- 4 large tomatoes
- 4 small bell peppers
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup medium grain rice
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons salt (divided)
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, OR
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 large yukon gold potato
Method
Wash the peppers and tomatoes
Remove the tops of the peppers and the seeds
Do the same with the tops of the tomatoes, carve out the pulp with a spoon, and place in a blender
Place the peppers and tomatoes in the baking pan and sprinkle the inside of the vegetables with 3/4 teaspoons salt
Peel, cut, and combine the onion, garlic, mint, and fresh tomato in the blender
Blend until smooth and pour into a large bowl
Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 cup rice, 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, and stir until well combined
Spoon 1 tablespoon of rice into each pepper and tomato. It may not look like much at first but the rice will expand as it cooks and it is key that you not overstuff the peppers and tomatoes. You will need to scoop the rice from the bottom of the bowl as it will have settled
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees
Spoon 4 tablespoons of the tomato mixture into the peppers and tomatoes. It is important to keep the rice to liquid ratio around 1 to 4. Depending on the size of your vegetables, you may need to add a little more rice and liquid. Simply make sure you keep the 1 to 4 ratio when doing so
Place the caps back on the peppers and tomatoes
Peel and cut the potato into 4 or 6 slices lengthwise and place around the peppers and tomatoes
Pour the remaining rice and liquid into the baking dish, taking care to disburse the rice evenly throughout the pan. If needed, stir around with a spoon.
Depending on the size of your baking pan, you may need to add a cup of water. The liquid will evaporate during the cooking process and the larger the exposed surface area of the liquid, the more will be lost from evaporation. As a general rule, I try to keep the tomatoes covered half way. In the case of the below illustration, it would have been best to add an additional cup of water bringing the liquid up to the blue line. The dish still tasted good but the rice in the pan was a little drier than intended
EntréesGluten-FreeOne Pan MealVeganVegetarian
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