Mains
Yemista
Γεμιστά
Yemista, pronounced ‘gye-me-sta’ is a traditional Greek dish that celebrates summer vegetables and is always a crowd pleaser. You can use any vegetables you have on hand to hollow out and fill, and adapt your own filling to your liking. We like to use a combination of onions, tomatoes and capsicums and use beef mince and rice for the filling, but you can omit the mince for a vegetarian option. However you make it, Yemista will always be delicious, with the added bonus of tasting even better the next day. Full method on the following pages.
Main
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized brown onions
- (makes around 10 shells)
- 4 tomatoes
- 5 capsicums
- 750g beef mince
- 1 bunch of parsley, roughly
- chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ⅓ cup of dried mint
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked pepper
- 3 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 cup medium grain rice
- 1 cup water
Method
- Cut off the top and the bottom of the onions
- Remove the skin of the onions then cut 1 slit vertically down the side of each onion so that it penetrates 3 layers
- Prise open the onion and remove the centre, being careful to not split the outer rings. You want to try to keep the shape of the onion shell
- Remove and separate the onion layers so that you end up with large 3-4 shells per onion. Set aside
- Finely dice the remaining centre pieces of the onions (including the centres) and set aside. This will eventually be integrated into the mixture For the capsicums
- Cut the tops off the capsicums, about 1-2cm down from its stem, then remove the stem and set the tops aside. We will be using them as makeshift lids later on
- Remove the seedy flesh, including the pith (the white, spongy part), from the inside and discard For the filling
- Add mince to a large mixing bowl
- Add in the finely diced onion and tomato flesh that was set aside
- Add the parsley, lemon juice, dried mint, salt, cracked pepper, olive oil and medium grain rice
- Mix filling together with your hands until it's well combined Bringing it all together
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees on fan bake
- Place the hollowed out onions, tomatoes, and capsicums upright on an oven try onto an oven tray
- With a tablespoon, stuff the vegetable shells with the filling until they are full but not overflowing
- Using leftover parts of the vegetables as lids to cover the tops of the onions and capsicums. Ensure that no filling is exposed so that the rice doesn't burn
- Add water to the bottom of the oven tray. This helps cook the rice while in the oven
- Drizzle olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice over everything and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Tightly cover the entire oven tray with foil
- Place the tray in the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes
- After 1 hour and 30 minutes remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes or until browned and the rice is cooked through. Cook for another 10 minutes if needed 3 medium-sized brown onions (makes around 10 shells) 4 tomatoes 5 capsicums 750g beef mince 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped 1 lemon, juiced ⅓ cup of dried mint 1 tablespoon of salt ½ teaspoon cracked pepper 3 tablespoon of olive oil 1 cup medium grain rice 1 cup water For the tomatoes
- Cut 1-2cm of the top of each tomato off, but be careful not to slice fully through — we want to leave part of the tomato attached like a hinge. The top of the tomato should still be intact and attached, but with enough room to remove the inside flesh
- With a tablespoon, remove the seedy flesh to hollow out the tomato and place its contents aside
- Dice the seedy flesh you removed from the tomato and set aside the bowl with the diced onion. This will eventually be integrated into the mixture