A taste of Greek summer: Yemista - recipe

Yemista is for me the ultimate taste of Greek Summer! Of those lazy summer days...  - Coming home from the beach  - all sweaty and full of sand, sun and salt water. Jumping in the shower, and then sitting down at the balcony to eat - those wonderful yemista with some feta cheese, olives and a chilled glass of wine...and the sunset..

So, how would it be like to make and eat Yemista here in India? Ah- dear reader - we loved it! I couldn't find those big, juicy red tomatoes we have in Greece, but it worked well with the ones I found. We use peppers and tomatoes for our dish. So, today I have a taste of my Greek Summer for you, dear reader. We make them with rice only, so also great for vegetarians. This is how we do it:


YEMISTA - (stuffed peppers & tomatoes) 
You need:
8-10 green peppers
6-8 tomatoes
3 dl rice
4 onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
(1/2 leek - if you want to)
dill, spearmint, salt, pepper
olive oil, water, some lemon juice

You do: 
Clean the vegetables and remove the seeds of the peppers. Cut off the tops of the vegetables (keep them) and scoop out the flesh of the tomatoes. Cut it into small pieces, and leave in a bowl. Place the vegetables in a baking pan and do the filling: In a pan with some olive oil - fry the garlic and onion - and after a while add the tomato flesh, the rice and the spices. Add 1 cup of water and let simmer for 5 minutes. Put the filling in the vegetables (3/4 full) and add the tops. 

Then sprinkle over some olive oil, salt and pepper, and add 1-2 cups of water in the pan. Bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes at 180-200'C. As you can see, I also bake a couple of eggplants with my Yemista - I will tell you about that delicious dish another time.. 

I really like my Yemista when they are not too hot, and together with some feta cheese: just yoummie!  So, that is a moment I really enjoy: sitting on the balcony, watching the sunset and enjoying those tasty Yemista! I hope you like them too, dear reader! Good evening from Mumbai!

A taste of Greek summer, with Yemista, some salad and the sea & the sunset :-)