When Daniel and Luke Mancuso lost their beloved mother Teresa to domestic violence, the Greek grandmother next door stepped in and started looking after them, passing home-cooked meals over the fence. This simple act of kindness helped Daniel and Luke navigate the fog of grief that followed, and captured the hearts of Australia when they started to share the meals and their special relationship with ‘Yiayia’ on social media.
Now we can all enjoy Yiayia’s home cooking with Yiayia Next Door, a collection of traditional recipes from her kitchen and those of yiayias all around Australia — including an amazing recipe for yemista (roasted stuffed vegetables), which we’re featuring today on the blog.
Happy cooking!
Yemista (Roasted stuffed vegetables)
Community Recipe from Natasha Georgopoulos, Victoria
Serves: 6-8
This is one of my favourite dishes from my yiayia; it takes me back to my childhood, eating her delicious food with my family. Over the past few years I’ve spent time learning how to cook my yiayia’s traditional dishes, creating my own ‘Yiayia cookbook’ so I can share her recipes with my own family and pass them down through the generations.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
1–2 garlic cloves, minced
½ bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1 tablespoon dried mint
440 g (2 cups) short-grain or arborio rice
½–1 teaspoon ground paprika
salt and black pepper
400 g can diced tomatoes
½ teaspoon sugar
6–8 large capsicums or tomatoes
1–2 potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (optional)
lemon wedges, to serve (optional)
Greek yoghurt, to serve (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, spring onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Stir through the parsley, thyme leaves and mint, then add the rice and paprika and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well to combine, then add the diced tomatoes, sugar and 625 ml (2 ½ cups) of water. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes or until the rice is almost cooked, but still with some bite. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the capsicums or tomatoes. Slice off the tops, reserving the lids, then carefully remove the seeds and membranes or tomato flesh without piercing the skin. If using tomatoes, you can add the scooped-out flesh to the filling.
Fill the hollowed-out capsicums or tomatoes with the filling and cover with the lids. Transfer to a baking dish and add the potato (if using) to the base of the dish, along with any leftover stuffing. Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil, then cover tightly with foil. Transfer to the oven and bake for 1 ¼–1 ½ hours. Check after 30 minutes of cooking and, if the vegetables look dry, add 125 ml (½ cup) of water to the dish. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown.
Divide the stuffed vegetables among plates, remove the lids and serve with lemon wedges and Greek yoghurt on the side, if desired.
—Yiayia Next Door by Daniel & Luke Mancuso (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
Yiayia Next Door
Recipes from Yiayia's kitchen, and the true story of one woman's incredible act of kindness
A book about the power of food to bring people together, featuring 60 classic Greek recipes and one incredible true story of kindness and community
When Daniel and Luke Mancuso lost their beloved mother Teresa to domestic violence, the Greek grandmother next door stepped in and started looking after them, passing home-cooked meals over the fence. This simple act of kindness...
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