Greek Gemista | Baked Peppers Stuffed with Spiced Rice

Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Wash the vegetables. Cut off the tops of the Kapia peppers and tomatoes, then set them aside. Remove the seeds from the peppers, and carefully scoop out the tomato pulp into a bowl, then chop the flesh with a fork or knife.

In a large skillet, heat half of the extra virgin olive oil (30 ml), then sauté the finely chopped onion until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and pine nuts, then sauté for another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Stir in the washed rice, the scooped tomato pulp, the canned chopped tomatoes, dried oregano, finely chopped fresh mint, and parsley. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Pour in about 100 ml of water and simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes until the rice is half-cooked and absorbs the flavors.