I have only been to Greece once (something that I must remedy soon) but the memory of Greek food has stayed with me. Although Greek cuisine is heavy on the meat side, it does celebrate vegetables with emphasis on fresh, locally grown Mediterranean ingredients and simple presentation.
When I went to Santorini a couple of years ago, my daily breakfast was thick, creamy yogurt with honey, fruits and nuts, a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and a decadent omelette with almost caramelised veggies – with a view of the Aegean sea and the caldera on the side.
Lunch was often the street-style food from the local fast food shops serving souvlaki wraps with courgette or tomato fritters stuffed inside a soft and fluffy, lightly grilled pita bread and topped with zesty Tzatziki sauce.
Dinners consisted of soulful, hearty, comfort food specially the ones that I had in the family-run boutique hotel that I was staying in. One such dish that the chef kindly made for me, thus indulging my request of trying a local, homemade vegetarian Greek dish, was Yemista – Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes.
Here’s my recipe for Yemista inspired by what I ate in Santorini and in no way I claim it to be authentic but I think it’s pretty close. For starters, it’s traditionally made with beef but I make a vegetarian version. A very simple recipe, it involves simmering vegetables and rice in a tomato broth and then stuffing this into hollow peppers and tomatoes to be cooked in the oven.
Vegetarian Yemista Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice (I used the ones ideal for risotto)
2 green peppers (or red/yellow/orange)
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 medium ripe tomato, blended in a blender
2 small potatoes, cut into 8 long wedges
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped courgettes (zucchini)
1/4 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Chopped parsley (handful)
Olive oil (preferably Greek)
1 veggie stock cube
Salt
Pepper
Method:
Cut the peppers and the tomatoes horizontally on the top as shown below. Scoop and throw out the contents of the peppers to make it hollow. Scoop the contents of the tomatoes but save it in a separate bowl.
In the blended tomato puree, add some parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper and chuck in the potato wedges.
Heat some oil in a pan and sauté garlic, onions, courgettes and carrots for a few minutes till they get slightly brown.
Add the scooped out tomato pulp that we set aside along with the parsley and stock cube and let this simmer for 5 minutes.
Now add the rice, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let the rice simmer in the tomato broth till 75% cooked.
By the way, I also added a teaspoon of a dried herbs mix that I had bought from Santorini – big fan of edible souvenirs, you see 😉 This step is completely optional.
Brush the peppers and tomatoes with some olive oil. Fill in with the rice mixture leaving a little room for the rice to expand.
In an ovenproof dish, add the peppers, tomatoes and potatoes and the remaining tomato puree.
After an hour, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. The yummy vegetarian yemista is now ready to be served.
I hope you liked the recipe for these stuffed peppers and tomatoes and will enjoy making it at home. Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear!
For more vegetarian recipes, click here.
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Cheers,
Ameeta xx
