Stuffed vegetables ‘with a twist’, a recipe from Athens

QUARANTINE DIARIES, COMFORT FOOD & ALL THE SMALL THINGS THAT KEEP US GOING

Lockdown might be slightly eased back in Athens, but truth to be said little has changed. I’ve talking with Natali, editor in chief of the Daily Owl and she shared her favourite stuffed vegetables, yemista with a twist.

Head straight to the recipe.

A few words about you and where did the quarantine find you?

My name is Natali, I’m the editor-in-chief of the website “The Daily Owl”, Athens resident, constantly hungry. Quarantine began while I was at home – apparently, hungry again.

What did it change for you ?

After 10 (or maybe 20, I can’t really vouch for that) years of laziness, I began practicing yoga every day during the quarantine. Also, the grocery store is now my ‘happy place’ only in a digital manner.

How many loo-rolls can you count in your cupboards?

Right at this moment I even have more semolina packages than toilet paper, that is to say there’s only 4 of them.

Comfort food: stuffed vegetables with a twist.

The beginning of the quarantine has been hard for all of us who prefer hot weather and despise rains. Despite the fact that it was an ‘off-season’ plate, stuffed vegetables ‘with a twist’ has kept us culinarily happy during this time.

Stuffed vegetables with a twist

Ingredients

6 round zucchini

2-3 Florina red peppers (or red bell peppers)

1 carrot

1 sweet potato

2 tbs firmly chopped spearmint

1 small red onion, grinded

1 large ripe tomato

4 tbsp bulgur wheat

Salt & freshly grind pepper

Fresh thyme

120 ml. olive oil Optional: 50 grams of feta cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven (fan, 180 C). Wash the vegetables thoroughly, scoop the inside of the zucchini and the peppers, arrange everything on the baking tray.
Grind the tomato, the onion, the carrot and two handfuls of the insides of the zucchini. Blend in the bulgur, the spearmint, a bit of salt and pepper, as well as half of the olive oil. Mix well.
Peel off the sweet potato and carefully cut it into sticks. Add salt and pepper, as well as the thyme, mix well and arrange on the tray.
Fill up the vegetables (leaving a bit of space at its end) and arrange them on top of the sweet potatoes. If you love cheese, keep 2 tbsp of the filling, mix with feta cheese and a bit of smoked paprika and fill up one of the peppers.
Pour the rest of the olive oil on top of the vegetables, cover your baking tray with foil and bake for 1 h and 15 min. Take foil off and bake for another 15′.
Serve with sourdough bread, a white cheese and cold beer. Very cold beer. The next day it’s even more delicious.

How do you cope?

From day one until today I have been following a specific routine, a daily rota of duties to define my working hours. Also, I’ve been cooking even more now, having tried new recipes and techniques, while sometimes I dress up, do my makeup and have my pictures taken for my personal funny “quarantine fashion editorial”.

Where will you go eat once this madness is over?

I will visit Cap Cap for a skillet cookie with triple chocolate chunks and ice cream. I baked a lot of cookies during the quarantine, but none even came close to this one.

Share a wish, just so we can finish on a happy note.

Health, luck and awareness for everyone. The road to the vaccine is long, but we’ll make it.

from Athens with love,

Natali

PS: If you wish to be part of my quarantine cuisine diaries and share your experience on Eat Yourself Greek (EYG), please drop me a line here. Thanks, Eugenia