Gemista – Greek peppers

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 12 small green bell peppers (e.g. from a Turkish store)
• 3 tomatoes, ripe
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g minced veal, alternatively mixed
• 200 g rice, preferably Carolin variety (Turkish store)
• ½ bunch mint
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

a Greek recipe, nice and fresh and light, tastes like vacation

Wash the peppers and cut off the tops. Remove the seeds, add a little salt, replace the lid, and place in a large casserole dish. Pre-cook in a hot oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for 1/2 hour. In the meantime, prepare the filling as follows: Peel the onion and finely dice. Peel the garlic clove and finely chop. Make a cross-shaped cut in the tomatoes and blanch them briefly in boiling water; the skins will be easier to remove. Now also dice the tomatoes. Finely chop the mint. Heat oil in a pan, brown the minced meat, and season with salt and pepper. Then add the diced onion, garlic, and mint and sauté. Next, add the diced tomatoes and rice. Fill with 1/4 liter of water, add a little salt, and then simmer with the lid slightly open until the rice is about half cooked and the liquid has almost evaporated. Season the filling with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the casserole dish from the oven and fill the peppers with the rice. Cover and cook in the hot oven for about 1 hour. This goes perfectly with tzatziki and potato wedges. Tip: I season the latter with salt, paprika, and a little olive oil and add them to the dish. Notes: I got this recipe from my Greek colleague at work. She makes the best gemistas in the world! Ever since I tried her peppers, I’ve only made gemistas this way. The right peppers are important—they don’t taste nearly as good with “regular” peppers. The type of rice also plays an important role, as does the mint. A wonderfully light, fresh summer dish that always reminds me of my childhood camping holidays in Greece.