#gemista

The Greek way (Outrageously Delicious Stuffed Peppers).

Greek comfort food and a Summer favourite. Stuffed peppers (Gemista) make a great all in one meal.

His: stuffed bell peppers (gemista) with potatoes and green beans.

My utterly non-authentic, but tasty, “gemista” - stuffed vegetables.

Sauté finely diced onion, carrot and celery with crushed garlic, finely chopped parsley and red chilli. Then add lean minced beef to the pan and sauté until browned. Add a squeeze of tomato purée, a sprinkle of dried oregano and another of dried chipotle chillis and mix well. Add tinned, chopped tomatoes, a couple of roughly chopped fresh tomatoes (to add a bit of variety in texture) and a pinch of sugar. Let simmer until cooked through and thickened slightly. On this occasion, I then added a mix of cooked brown rice and quinoa, but I sometimes add cooked lentils, other grains or beans… plenty of options, here.

I kept aside half the mixture to freeze and will serve another time with spaghetti or mashed sweet or white potato.

The rest, I piled into the hollows of seeded bell peppers and large tomatoes and baked for 30 mins at 190 Celsius.