Gemista — Stuffed Tomatoes and Peppers, Baked in Oil

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Wash the tomatoes and peppers. Carefully cut the tops off the tomatoes and peppers, reserving the tops. Scoop out the pulp from the tomatoes and finely chop it. Remove seeds and membranes from the peppers.

Finely chop the onion and garlic. In a large pan, heat 50 ml of the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chopped tomato pulp, cooking for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the rice, chopped parsley, chopped mint, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. This is your filling.

Stuff the tomatoes and peppers with the rice mixture, filling them about two-thirds full to allow space for the rice to expand. Place the reserved tops back on the vegetables.

Peel and cut the potatoes into wedges. Place them around the stuffed vegetables in a large baking dish. Drizzle the remaining 100 ml of olive oil generously over the vegetables and potatoes.

Add about 100 ml of water to the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake for 60 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelized, and the rice is cooked through. If the potatoes look dry, add a little more water during the last stage.

Serve warm, directly from the baking dish. Kali Orexi!