Gemista, pronounced: ye-meesta is another classic Greek dish enjoyed all year round. It is a comforting, hearty dish in the winter and a perfect way to use all of the extra tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini flowers that are growing in the garden in the summer.
It’s one of my favorite dishes to make because you get your veggies, protein, and starch all in one meal! Serve it with a nice salad and some bread and you’re good to go! Also, it’s one of those dishes that taste even better the next day. Try it and see.
How to make Gemista
The word Gemista translates to “filled with” in Greek. There are many versions of this dish. Gemista are traditionally filled with a combination of ground meat, rice, and herbs. My mom also makes them with shrimp instead of the ground meat and I often make a vegetarian version of the stuffed peppers & tomatoes. Print that recipe right here.
To recreate the classic version just follow these tips and you will have a big tray of these delicious stuffed veggies to enjoy for days to come.
- Slice the tops off of the tomatoes and bell peppers. Save them they taste very delicious.
- Remove the seeds from the peppers and discard them. Carefully remove the tomato flesh and place it in a blender (this will be part of the sauce).
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into wedges and keep them soaked in cool water.
- Feel free to stuff any veggies that you have in your garden or refrigerator: zucchini, zucchini flowers, eggplant, onions, etc…
- Make the filling and allow it to cool slightly. Make sure not to overcook the rice when making the filling. It will continue to cook while the vegetables are baking.
- Use your favorite herbs. I switch them up often depending on what I have on hand. Use any (or a combination) of the following: parsley, dried oregano, mint, basil, or dill.
Can the Gemista be made ahead?
Yes. Gemista actually taste better the next day (Straight out of the refrigerator😆). And even better the day after that. So, make sure to prepare a large batch so that you can have a meal waiting for you for days to come.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. I know that some people like to freeze the gemista but, I’ve never tried that. If you’ve done it please comment below and let us know how they turn out once they’re thawed.
To reheat leftovers, place them in a baking pan with about a cup of water and let them warm through in a preheated (350 °F, 180 °C) oven.
What to serve with Gemista:
Simply serve the stuffed baked veggies with a salad, feta cheese, and tzatziki.
Create the ultimate Greek Comfort food dinner by serving Rizogalo (Greek Rice Pudding) after dinner.
I hope that you and your family will enjoy this recipe. If you give it a try, let me know what you think in the comments section. Kali Orexi and I will be back here soon with another delicious recipe worth sharing. Filakia Polla, Dimitra
Gemista: Classic Greek Stuffed Peppers & Tomatoes
Gemista, pronounced: ye-meesta is another classic Greek dish enjoyed all year round. It is a comforting, hearty dish in the winter and a perfect way to use all of the extra tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini flowers that are growing in the garden in the summer.
Ingredients
- 6 medium tomatoes
- 5 large bell peppers
- 4-6 potatoes, peeled and sliced into
- wedges
- For the stuffing:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 medium onions, finely
- chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 (16 ounces) can tomatoes, pureed
- 1 cup olive oil
- 2 cups of water
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt (about 3 teaspoons)
- Black pepper, to taste
- 3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh
- parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried dill or basil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 °F, 200 °C.
Cut and save the tops of the tomatoes and bell peppers. Remove pulp from inside the tomatoes and reserve. Remove seeds from the bell peppers.
Make the stuffing:
Add the canned tomatoes and the tomato pulp into a blender and puree until smooth.
Cook onions in ¾ cup of olive oil until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and warm through for a few seconds.
Add ground beef and break it up while browning a bit. Add canned tomato puree, ¾ teaspoons salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook approximately 15 minutes.
Add rice, 2 cups of water, and a teaspoon of salt and cook for 6-8 minutes on medium-high heat. Do not overcook rice because it will continue to cook in the oven!) Remove from heat and add herbs. Mix well and allow to cool slightly.
Assemble the dish:
Sprinkle a little bit of sugar inside the tomatoes to cut the acidity.
Sprinkle some olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper over the potatoes.
Arrange the vegetables in a baking dish with the potatoes in between.
Fill the tomatoes and bell peppers with the beef and rice filling no more than ¾ full. The rice will expand more while cooking in the oven. Place the veggie tops overfilling.
Mix in ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ teaspoon dried oregano along with salt and pepper to the remaining tomato puree.
Pour the tomato sauce with seasoning over potatoes. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Drizzle a little more olive oil over the tops of the tomatoes and bell peppers.
Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until the vegetables are nice and soft.
Remove foil covering and raise the temperature to 425 °F, 220 °C. Cook about 30-45 minutes more until the veggies get slightly charred on top and the potatoes are fork-tender.
Allow to cool before serving. These taste even better the next day! Enjoy!!
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Hi Dimitra,
I’m Greek myself and my family loves this dish. (Gemista)
Can I substitute basmati rice for italien pearl rice ?
Yes, you can. I use Basmati rice all the time in this dish 🙂
My YaYa always topped Peppers & Tomatoes with either Mizithra or Romano cheese.😊
Love your recipes you make them so easy . I’m also greek from Montreal Canada 🇨🇦
I would like to stuff my garden zucchini. Can you recommend any alteration to this pepper gemista recipe? I remember my mother lightly sauteing the zucchini boats prior to stuffing to precook. Also I’m thinking bechamel sauce instead of rice or both?
Thank you Dimitra!😊 For your thoughts.
Dimitra, made gemista tonight! A labor of love😩whew that’s a lot of work. But my question is , why so much liquid left in the pan after they cooked? I didn’t add any water. And yet there was so much? Plus my patates didn’t brown? I’m lost. Wish i took the time to watch my mama make it when she was alive😔. It never comes out like hers
Hi Maria! I’m working on an updated (quick version) of this recipe. The classic method is long and laborious and that’s the reason I shared a recipe that makes a lot of gemista. Since the veggies are not pre-cooked they do release a lot of liquid and it also depends on the oven as well. You can bake them uncovered for the final hour of cooking so that the liquid can evaporate. Hope this helps and thanks so much for taking time out to write to me. All the best, Dimitra
Maria, to help with the water in the pan, my yaya always opened the vegetables early and salted the inside. She then laid them open side down on a kitchen towel for a couple hours to draw out the excess moisture before cooking. Much like what you do to cucumber when making tzatziki. Hope that helps.
I made your make-ahead freezer meat tomato sauce. Can I stick that into these with some rice? If so how would that work? Trying to think of other ways to use that sauce other than in pita and on pasta. Dimitra, you have taught me to cook for my large family during Covid and I am forever grateful. —a lebanese american
Yes, absolutely. If you used 1 pound of ground beef and froze it that way, you can just add the amount of rice that this recipe calls for and use the meat sauce. 🙂
This recipe is the same as the stuffed peppers at my favorite place here in Astoria ny thank you for the post
Nice!! I grew up in Astoria, Queens. Which restaurant is it?
Hi Dimitra,
In this recipe you mention mixing the remaining tomato puree in with olive oil and oregano and pour over the potatoes. How much of the tomato puree do you put in the stuffing. It doesn’t say.
I look forward to your reply, Jane
In keeping with these inane comments I’d like to know can I wear a floppy hat when I make these?
This is a little confusing as the stuffing instructions say to blend the pulp and tomatoes, then add the canned tomato puree to the meat and onions. The assembly part then says to mix olive oil and spices into the remaining tomato puree. I don’t see where it says to divide the tomatoes. Can you clarify?
So sorry about that. The canned tomato sauce is added to the meat mixture. The pulp from the tomatoes is pureed as to not waste it and then poured over the assembled gemista and potatoes in the pan. Hope that makes sense 🙂
Hi Dimitra, I visit your site often, and have very much enjoyed your recipes. At this moment, I have your peppers and tomatoes gemista in the oven. I must say however, that the recipe was a bit confusing. . .especially at the end where you instruct as follows “Mix in ¼ cup olive oil and ¼ teaspoon dried oregano along with salt and pepper to the remaining tomato puree.
Pour the tomato sauce with seasoning over potatoes. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.”
What remaining tomato puree?????? you had not designated that the pureed canned tomatoes with the fresh tomato pulp blended in should be divided. . . .I had already added it in with the ground beef and rice. . . Also, you use the terms “tomato sauce”, “tomato puree”, “canned tomatoes” inconsistently. . . .are there several types of tomato products that are needed??? The only tomato product that I see in the ingredient list for the filling is “canned tomato, pureed”. Also, you call for seasoning the potatoes three times. . . before arranging in the pan, then with the “tomato sauce”, and then again after you have poured to tomato sauce on the potatoes once arranged in the pan. Am I just confused? Maybe you can take a few minutes to help me figure this out. . .Thanks. Keep up the great recipes. . .hope I didn’t totally screw this one up. Lefka