In Greek: γεμιστά με κιμά, pronounced yeh-mee-STAH meh kee-MAH
When preparing to make this dish, we didn't find nice zucchini, so the photo shows stuffed tomatoes, green peppers, and eggplants, but zucchini and potatoes can also be used. Choose one or more vegetables of your preference. Vegetable amounts shown below were chosen because that's what fit in our baking pan. Choose your quantities the same way.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 10 firm ripe tomatoes
- 6 large green peppers
- 4 medium eggplants
- 2 1/5 pounds of ground beef
- 1 cup of uncooked rice
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)
- 3 teaspoons of salt
- 1 level teaspoon of pepper
- 6-7 stalks of fresh parsely, chopped (using 2-3 inches of the stems as well)
- 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- dried breadcrumbs
Preparation:
Gather together the vegetables planned for this dish and do a "test run" before starting to cook:
- In a baking or roasting pan approximately 16 x 14 (size used here), place vegetables comfortably close without squashing. Tomatoes and smaller "bell" peppers should be placed standing on end; eggplants, zucchini, and larger green peppers should be placed on their sides (see larger photo).
Choose vegetables based on preference and their fit in the pan.
Wash the vegetables carefully and dry.
With a paring knife, cut the caps off the tops of vegetables and set aside.
Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp and seeds from the eggplant (and zucchini, if using), and green peppers, and discard.
Scoop out tomato pulp and chop well.
Place chopped tomato pulp in a large bowl and add 1/4 cup olive oil, ground beef, onions, garlic (if using), rice, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Mix by hand until well blended.
Note: The filling should be the texture of spaghetti sauce - nice and liquid. If needed, liquefy (in blender) or grate 1-2 more tomatoes and add to the meat mixture.
Lightly salt the interior of all the vegetables.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
With a spoon, carefully fill each of the vegetables very loosely with the meat and rice mixture. Cover with caps and place in the baking pan. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and sprinkle the tops with breadcrumbs.
Bake at 375°F (190°C) for one hour and serve.
Source: Kyria Anna, Kato Arhanes, Crete