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Greek

Gemista

Vegetarian

Γεμιστά · Gemistá

Tomatoes and peppers hollowed out and filled with herby rice cooked in their own pulp, then baked with olive oil and potato wedges until soft and caramelised. A meat-free Greek summer staple.

Gemista is a Greek main course from Greece, ready in about 2 hours 15 minutes and made with tomato, green bell pepper and short-grain rice. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Dolma
Representative photo. Violetamyftari / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
35 min
Cook
1 h 25 min
Rest
15 min
Total
2 h 15 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
382

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Slice the tops off the tomatoes (opens in a new tab) and peppers (opens in a new tab) and keep them as lids. Scoop out the tomato flesh and blend it; seed the peppers. Sprinkle the insides with a little of the salt.

  2. Step 2

    Soften the onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) in half the oil, add the rice and stir for a minute, then add half the tomato (opens in a new tab) pulp, the tomato paste (opens in a new tab), herbs, remaining salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab). Simmer for 5 minutes until the rice has absorbed some liquid.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 190 °C. Stand the vegetables in a baking dish (opens in a new tab), fill them three-quarters full with the rice (it swells) and put on the lids. Tuck the potato (opens in a new tab) wedges in between.

  4. Step 4

    Pour the remaining tomato (opens in a new tab) pulp, the rest of the oil and the water around the vegetables. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for 30–40 minutes more until the rice is tender and the tops are browned.

  5. Step 5

    Rest for 15 minutes; gemista are best served warm rather than hot.

    • 15 min

About this dish

Origin
Greece · Well documentedMore food from Greece
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Rice dishes
Cooking method
Oven-baked
Taste
herby, sweet & savoury, fresh
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: No added sugarWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Tomato · Green bell pepper · Short-grain rice · Onion · Garlic · Parsley
Techniques
Baking · Simmering

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

382 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 387 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 6%
  • Carbohydrate 51%
  • Fat 44%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy382 kcal99 kcal
Protein5.8 g1.5 g
Carbohydrate49.4 g12.8 g
Net carbohydrate——
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre——
Fat18.9 g4.9 g
Saturated fat2.7 g0.7 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium504 mg130 mg
Salt equivalent1.3 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
812 mg
Calcium
47 mg
Iron
1.9 mg
Magnesium
50 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
—
Vitamin C
100 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
46 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Gemista taste even better the next day at room temperature.

Common mistakes

  • Packing the shells full of raw rice — it swells and bursts them; fill only three-quarters.

Serve with

  • Serve with feta and crusty bread.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Serve at room temperature or warm through in the oven.

Variations

  • With minced meat: Some families add browned minced beef to the rice filling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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