Stuffed Seasonal Veggies ‘Yemista’ from the Garden

Method

Filling Preparation

→ Start by cutting the tops of all your veggies keeping them clean and closable like a ‘cap’. 

→ Slice very a very thin the round off the bottom of the tomatoes and eggplants so that they sit flat on the tray and moisture can be let in when cooking also. (The zucchinis and peppers will be flat on their side so no need)

→ With a small spoon or zucchini corer, hollow out the veggies reserving their pulp into a large bowl. 

→ Place the now hollowed veggies onto the baking tray and lightly sprinkle with salt for them to start sweating their beautiful juices.

→ To the bowl of veggie pulp, add in the herbs roughly chopped, freshly grated onion, cumin, rice, olive oil and salt/pepper to taste. The mixture is now ready for filling the veggies.

Veggie Preparation

→ Fill up your hollowed out veggies with the mixture about 3/4 of the way up. (The rice will expand in the oven so don’t overfill)

→ Place the caps on all the now filled veggies and assemble in baking tray to your liking. Depending on the size/shape I like to keep round veggies like tomatoes and eggplants upright and longer veggies like zucchini and peppers on their side. 

→ The remaining gaps can be filled using whatever else you have available. I love using smaller stuffed leaves and flowers or potatoes. 

→ If you are using fresh seasonal vine leaves or pumpkin leaves blanch in boiling water for 20 seconds to soften and refresh in iced/cold water for 1 minute.

→ Drain the leaves and roll them up like dolmades with the remainder of the mixture and fill in the gaps of your baking tray. You are now ready to cook!