Yemista - Greek Stuffed Vegetables
Yemista is a tasty traditional Greek dish. Literally meaning "to stuff", yemista can be filled with minced meat and rice (recipe below); ground turkey for a leaner, low-carb option; with lentils, pine nuts, and raisins for a vegan option; or quinoa and mushrooms for a meat-like texture. The options are truly limitless! Presented below is the recipe I learned to make with my grandmother (fondly referred to as Yiayia in Greek) who is from the island of Chios. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs grass-fed ground meat, (85-90%, any more is quite lean), can also use ground turkey or tempeh
- 2 red bell peppers
- 3 beefsteak tomatoes
- 3 japanese eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 2 large shallots, finely diced
- 2 medium-sized red onions, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely diced
- 2 cans Muir Glen tomato sauce
- 3/4 cup Greek extra-virgin olive oil, and more as needed for taste!
- 10 tbsp brown or white basmati rice
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cups water
- shredded mizithra or parmesan to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pot with 1/4 cup olive oil
- In a small food processor, add shallots, garlic, onion and 1 cup of water and blend until finely diced
- Add to pot on medium-high heat and sauté until translucent, stirring frequently for about 25 minutes. Add more water as needed to prevent burning and keep the lid off the pot.
- Using your hands or a rolling pin, roll out the eggplant and zucchini until the outside flesh is soft. This will greatly assist in the next steps below so use your muscle!
- Next, use a knife to cut a "cap" for the bell peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant.
- Use a grapefruit spoon to carve the meat out of the tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplant being careful not to tear through the edges.
- Scrape enough to make a hollow opening in each vegetable and save the innards in a bowl. This part takes patience and diligence but is key to yummy stuffed vegetables! *Note, since the bell peppers don't have "meat" you may discard the seeds and white flesh on the inside.
- Add the vegetable innards to the food processor with water and blend well.
- Once blended, add to the pot and add salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix well and continue to cook on high heat for 20 minutes.
- Once vegetables are sautéed, add ground meat and more salt and pepper to taste, mixing well until ground meat is cooked.
- While meat is browning, turn oven on to 390°F.
- After meat is browned, taste with a spoon to see if you need to add more salt or pepper.
- Add parsley, one can of tomato sauce, and 10 tbsp of rice and turn to high heat until mixture begins to bubble. Reduce to low-heat and cover for 30 minutes while the rice cooks.
- Meanwhile, in your food processor add the other can of tomato sauce, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 2 tsp salt and pepper.
- Once rice is cooked, turn the pot off and begin to use a spoon to fill each vegetable with the meat & rice mixture until filled toward the top (but not overfilled or it will overflow when the rice continues to expand in the oven). Place the cap on top of each vegetable, using a toothpick to spear and hold the caps for the eggplants and zucchinis in place.
- Add each vegetable to a large baking pan. Use another toothpick to poke several small holes in the eggplants and zucchinis (but not the tomatoes or bell peppers which have a softer flesh).
- Pour the tomato sauce/EVOO blend from the food processor over the tops of the stuffed vegetables. Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 60 minutes, checking every 30 minutes to rotate as needed.
- After 60 minutes, remove the aluminum foil and cook for another 40-50 minutes until the tops of the vegetables are well-cooked!
- Remove from oven and let cool. Top with mizithra (greek version of ricotta!) or parmesan and enjoy! A challenging recipe, but well worth the effort! And the leftovers last for days and taste even better as the meat marinates within the vegetables.
Did you make this recipe?Comment below or tag @stephaniewellbeing on instagram and let us know!