Recipe: Yemista Orphana (Meatless or Orpaned Stuffed Vegetables)

" 'Orphaned' is the epethet used on Crete, where this recipe was obtained, to describe meatless stuffed vegetables. Tomatoes are probably the most commonly stuffed vegetables, and like moussaka ans pastitsio, are porobably among a handful of foods that evoke Greece to most visitors. Meatless stuffed vegetables are also called nistisimes, or Lenten, regardless of the season. Yemista simply means 'stuffed.'

On Crete, raisins are a staple in rice stuffing; they are common. actually, throughout the country, and are frequently found in the company of pine nuts or almonds. To make this truly a Cretan dish, crown the sumptous vegetables not with their own severed caps, nor even a generous ladling of stiff bechamel, but with an earthy stuffed grape leaf as a topper. Yemista are also sometimes topped with a mixture of coarse plain bread crumbs and crumbled feta.

The most common way to prepare this dish is with stuffed peppers and eggplants in the same pan. On Sundays in Greece, bakeries are open only for the public use of their ivens (for a small fee), and even today, when most people -

in the cities at least - have their own ovens, one sees husband after husband carrying large round pans to and from the baheries. The tradition is that Sunday is the woman's day off, although it always seemed to me a lot more work to stuff a tray full of vegetables than to carry a laden pan to the local baker;s oven..."

This recipe is from The Food and Wine of Greece by Diane Kochilas.

Yemista Orphana
(Meatless or "Orphaned" Stuffed Vegetables)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

10 to 12 large, firm, ripe tomatoes, or any mix of tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and eggplants
1/4 c. olive oil
5 to 6 scallions, finely chopped
1 c. long grain rice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small cinnamon stick (optional)
1/3 c. dark or light seedless raiains
1/3 c. lightly toasted pine nuts
3/4 c. water, or more if necessary
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley, packed
2 to 3 Tbl. chopped fresh mint
1 c. bechamel sauce (recipe follows), or 12 stuffed grape leaves (both optional)

Wash the vegetables. Take a very sharp knife and slice of the top of each tomato and/or pepper. Seed the pepper. Keep each vegetable and "cap: togethere, since the tops will fit back on when vegetables are stuffed.
With a teaspoon, gently scoop out the pulp of each tomato, being careful not to tear the outer skin. Leave a shell thick enough (about 1/2 inch) to hold stuffing. Remove seeds, chop pulp, and place with juices in a large bowl.
In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 Tbl. of the olive oil and saute scallions until transparent. Add the rice and stir frequently until very lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomato pulp, garlic, cinnamon stick, raisins, pine nuts and water. Reduce the heat, cover skillet, and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until rice is softened but not cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. (The mixture should be moist). Remove cinnamon stick; season stuffing with salt and pepper; toss in herbs.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stuff the vegetables with rice filling and crown either with their own caps, a stuffed grape leaf, or a generous ladling of thisk bechamel. Place in a baking pan. Add a little water to the pan (about 1/4 c.), drizzle remaining 2 Tbl. olive oil over the yemista, and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until vegetables are soft and blistery (for tomatoes and peppers) and rice cooked. Baste with pan juices during baking, if necessary. Serve warm or cold.
*Note: If using eggplants in this recipe, keep them whole. Cut off the stems and scoop out the pulp. Finely chop the eggplant pulp discarding as many of the bitterseeds as possible, and saute together with scallions and rice.

Bechamel Sauce Yield: 1 cup

3 Tbl. butter
3 Tbl. all-purpose flour
1 c. milk at room temperature or slightly warmed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grating of nutmeg
1 to 3 egg yolks (optional)

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat; do not brown. Add flour and stir to blend with a wire whisk. Cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until flour no longer tastes raw. Slowly add milk over low heat and stir occasionally with a whisk, until the sauce is creamy, still liquid, but quite thick. (This will take 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the strenghth of the heat.) Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cool slightly before beating in egg yolks.
*Note: When increasing the amount of the recipe, increase all ingredients proportionately, except for the eggs. One to three yolks - as desired - are the standard number. Egg yolks are generally included for baked dishes, such as pastitsio and moussaka.