This week, and for the next couple of weeks, we’ve got three very summery recipes for you, from Amaryllis from The Tasty Other. Amaryllis is one of our favourite guest chefs in our dinner experiences and cooking workshops. She has a pure love for food, a fascination with tradition and gatherings, and great passion about storytelling through photography. You can check out many of her recipes here, and of course follow her on instagram. So here it is, words and recipe by Amaryllis, right below. Enjoy!
One of my favourite dishes (and certainly my favourite summer dish) is gemista, chubby tomatoes & bell peppers stuffed with rice (or bulgur) and herbs and baked until soft, bubbly and delicious. It really is the quintessential Greek summer dish and though I never tire of it, this time it only served as inspiration, allowing orzo, another favourite of mine, to take centre stage. A delicious minuscule pasta, which tastes delicious both straight out of the oven and at room temperature, orzo is widely used in Greek cooking. Here I’ve stuffed roasted peppers with a very seasonal orzo pasta salad: juicy cherry tomatoes, which I’m never without in the summer months, red onion, lots of herbs, and a few of my favourite Oliveology products: black Kalamata olives and artichokes, all dressed in white balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, and finished off with homemade golden oregano breadcrumbs.
Ingredients
4 red bell peppers, halved, seeds discarded
4 garlic cloves (skin on)
1 cup orzo
About 15 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on their size
1/2 cup Kalamata olives
1/2 cup jarred artichokes, whole or roughly chopped
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 bunch of dill, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch of mint roughly chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle over the peppers
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
For the homemade breadcrumbs:
3 slices stale bread
1/2-1 teaspoon dried oregano
Zest from 1/2 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
Big pinch of salt
Method
Put the bread in a food processor & pulse until you have thick breadcrumbs; toss with the oregano and lemon zest and add to a hot pan, along with a good drizzle of olive oil. Cook over medium heat for about 7’, or until golden. Remove from the heat, add a good pinch of sea salt flakes and set aside until ready to use. (You can store any leftovers in a jar for up to a week).
Preheat the oven to 200C (180 Fan); place the peppers & garlic on a baking tray, drizzle with some olive oil, add a good pinch of salt and bake for 20’-25’, until soft, but still holding their shape.
Meanwhile, cook the orzo in plenty of salted water for about 10’, drain well and add about a tablespoon of olive oil; set aside to cool a little and then toss with the tomatoes, olives, artichokes, onion, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic and black pepper.
Take the peppers out of the oven and squeeze the garlic cloves off their skin; add to the orzo and toss again gently. Scoop the salad into the halved peppers, finishing off with feta crumbles, a light drizzle of olive oil and a good sprinkle of the breadcrumbs.
