Dinner · 90 min · greek

Gemista (Rice-Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes)

Large bell peppers does the heavy lifting here, with ripe tomatoes rounding it out. A Greek dinner that takes 90 minutes, start to finish. It is weeknight cooking that still hits your targets — 5 grams of protein per serving. Leftovers keep well, so it doubles as next-day lunch without any extra work.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 6 Large bell peppers
• 4 large Ripe tomatoes
• 1.5 cups Short-grain rice
• 1 large Yellow onion
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1/3 cup Fresh mint
• 1/3 cup Fresh parsley
• 1 cup Tomato sauce
• 2/3 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Salt
• 2 large Potatoes

Steps

1. Slice the tops off the peppers and tomatoes and scoop out the insides — save every scrap of tomato pulp for the filling. Rub the hollow vegetables with salt and set them upside down to drain.
2. Sizzle the onion in half the oil until soft, add the garlic, then the rice; toast 2 minutes until the grains turn translucent at the edges. Stir in the tomato pulp, half the tomato sauce, the herbs, and salt.
3. Stuff each vegetable only two-thirds full — the rice swells as it bakes, and overstuffed gemista burst their skins. Cap with the tops.
4. Nestle potato wedges between the vegetables in the pan; they roast in the pan juices and become the cook’s secret reward. Pour the remaining sauce and water around (not over) the vegetables, drizzle with the rest of the oil.
5. Bake covered at 375°F for 45 minutes, then uncovered 20 minutes until the tops char slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature — gemista improve as they sit, and Greeks will happily eat them lukewarm.

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