Wash the vegetables in warm water and vinegar solution. Start first with the tomatoes. Cut them in the upper part and carefully remove all the pulp. Keep the pulp in a separate bowl. Now cut the round courgette zucchini and remove the pulp. Try to make zucchini stand by cutting just a thin portion from the bottom. Cut the eggplant in half and remove the pulp creating a long cup. In the end, cut the peppers and remove the seeds. Keep the upper parts for lids. Finely chop all the pulp from the vegetables you've kept aside. Grease all the veggies with some olive oil to prevent them from turning dark.
Start preparing the filling. Finely chop the spring onion and sauté it in 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of goat butter. We used a marble-wok type of pan, you can use any deep pan. Add the minced meat and stir with a wooden spoon. Let the meat brown.
Add sea salt and stir. Start adding the spices. (garlic powder, peppermint, red hot paprika flakes, parsley, Ceylon cinnamon, sweet paprika powder, bay leaves and all the spices you like)
Let it cook for 2 minutes and then add the remaining vegetable pulp that you finely chopped earlier. Stir and cook for another 5-6 minutes. Now add the raw sesame seeds and cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and wait a few minutes to cool down a bit. Add 1 large egg. Stir energetically so that the egg doesn't create crumbs. Now add black pepper. (It's crucial to add it in the end)
Pour approximately 2 tbsp (Greeks never measure and always add more) of olive oil into a deep clay baking dish. We used the ancient replica made of Terra-cotta clay without the glaze. You can use any deep ceramic baking dish that comes with a lid.
Start filling the vegetables with the meat mixture. Fill them up to the top and cover with their natural lids. It's really effective to leave the stalks on. Fit all the filled vegetables into the pot close to each other. Brush them with some more olive oil (you can also use melted butter) and add 1,5 cup water.
Cover with the clay lid and place it in the oven. Bake at 250ºC (480ºF) for 45 minutes.
In the meantime prepare the red sauce. Mix 1 hipped tablespoon of concentrated organic tomato purée (without added sugar) with 1/2 cup of warm water. Add some sea salt to your liking and 1 tbsp of dried oregano. Mix well. After the Gemista has been baked under the lid for 45 minutes, add this red sauce (pour it all over) and bake for another 20 minutes uncovered.
Now, sprinkle the feta cheese all over and return to the oven. If your oven doesn't have the grilling program, just turn it on to the maximum and let the feta melt for 2 minutes.
When serving, you can add some more feta cheese, sour cream or full-fat Greek yoghurt. The dish is equally delicious hot or cold.