This a traditional Greek recipe for stuffed vegetables with rice. It takes a while to prepare but you will definitely enjoy it.
Ingredients
500 gr Peppers, stuffed with rice
800 gr Aubergine, stuffed with rice
400 gr Onions, raw
12 gr Garlic, raw
900 gr Courgette, raw
500 gr White rice, glutinous, boiled
500 gr Tomatoes, canned, whole contents
50 gr Parsley, fresh
1.5 kgr Tomatoes, stuffed with rice
1.5 kgr Old potatoes, roast in blended oil
150 ml Olive oil
2 teaspoon (tsp) Sugar, white
1 teaspoon (tsp) Salt
1 teaspoon (tsp) Pepper, black
2 tablespoon (tbsp) Tomato puree
2 tablespoon (tbsp) Butter
Servings scaling: 8
Preparation
Start by washing all the vegetables; once finished I suggest you preheat the oven to 180oC at least 20 minutes before use. Slice off the top of the tomatoes i.e. the stem/stalk side; using a spoon remove the flesh/internals of the tomatoes and leave the tomato rest hollowed. Do not throw the tomato flesh as it will be used later as the sauce base.
Do the same process for the aubergines and courgettes, once again keep these bits as they will be used in the sauce. Remove the stem of the peppers and remove the seeds and white parts from the inside; you can throw these you will not need them for the sauce. Place the hollowed vegetables on a large baking tray and season them with salt/pepper and bit of sugar and part of the butter on the bottom of each vegetable.
For the sauce, in a blender add the flesh of all the vegetables, be generous with the olive oil, tomato puree, and sugar, season with salt and pepper, and mix to combine...leave it to rest for the time being. In a saucepan sauté the onions with a bit of olive oil, until golden. Add the base sauce you prepared previously. Add the rice and continue sautéing, unit it becomes golden. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Once you get an almost thick sauce your stuffing is ready. Remove the pan from the stove and mix in all the herbs.
With a tablespoon fill in the empty vegetables and place the potatoes, cut into four wedges each, and place them between the vegetables as apart from food the potatoes are so that the vegetables will not fall during cooking. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the vegetables with their step/top sides and use a toothpick to make sure these will not... we need these to boil inside, therefore add 2-3 glasses of water in the baking tray. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 Celsius for 60-75 minutes. Halfway through cooking time remove the aluminum foil and bake, until nicely coloured.
