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Les Petits Farcis a Provencal Specialty from Nice

Les Petit Farcis is a hearty dish often found on menus in Provence during fall and winter months. Found commonly on menus throughout the region les petits farcis originate from Niçoise cuisine. The name refers to small stuffed vegetables. Traditional recipes call for seasonal vegetables such as zucchini squash (in this version). It is not uncommon to see variations with stuffed mushroom caps, tomatoes, eggplant or even sweet onions. The farce (stuffing) is sausage meat, which in this case is Italian sausage. In France, you can buy prepared farce at your local butcher or in the meat section at the grocery store.

Les Petits Farcis Provencal

Petits Farcis a Nicoise Speciality

Les petits farcis may be served warm or at room temperature. Serve the petits farcis, served with the roasted vegetables, a green salad, crusty bread and a bottle of Côtes du Rhône make an excellent lunch or add some roasted chicken and call it dinner.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine French, Nicoise, Provencal
Servings 3 people*

Ingredients
  

  • 6 small round Zucchini Squash or 3 medium long zucchini, tailed, topped & halved
  • 1 lb (.45 kg) Sweet Italian Sausage or Italian-style turkey sausage
  • 1 small Onion finely diced
  • 1 large Garlic Clove minced
  • 2 slices White Bread crusts removed
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
  • 3 tbsp Parsley chopped
  • 1 tbsp Thyme chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil more for drizzling
  • 3 Yellow or Red peppers halved or quartered, if very large
  • 3 Fresh Tomatoes ripe but not soft, halved
  • 1 tsp Freshly ground pepper
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F (160C).
  • Carefully remove the tops of the zucchini cutting about 2” from the top. Reserve the tops.
  • Gently scoop out the flesh from the inside of the zucchini, leaving 1/2”- 3/4” of flesh on the sides, depending on the size of the zucchini. Reserve flesh for another use. (If you are using the long zucchini, scoop out the seeds and flesh leaving 1/2” to 3/4” on the sides).
  • Salt the inside of the zucchini, turn over and drain on paper towels.
  • Tear the bread into small pieces, cover with milk and allow to soak while you prepare the filling.
  • In a sturdy fry pan (cast iron is best), sauté the onion and minced garlic until soft but not browned.
  • Add the sausage and break into small pieces, continue to cook until cooked through and no pink remains.
  • Allow to cool several minutes. Remove the bread from the milk and gently squeeze the bread to remove excess liquid.
  • In a large bowl, add the sausage mixture, bread, parsley, thyme.
  • Add the pepper and salt and mix to incorporate the ingredients with your hands. (The amount of salt will depend upon the sausage, start with 1/2 tsp and correct as needed).
  • Fill each zucchini “shell” with the sausage mixture.
  • Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and replace the caps.
  • Place the zucchini on a well-oiled sheet pan, scatter pepper and tomato halves around the zucchini and drizzle with olive oil.
  • Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes until the zucchini are soft but not falling apart.
    Les Petits Farcis Provencal Prep

Notes

*The number of servings will depend on your choice of sides and the size of the zucchini. If the zucchini are small in size perhaps two (2) per person.
Keyword Peppers, Pork, Zucchini
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To some Pan Bagnat might just look like a sandwich, however, to those who have visited Nice it is anything but. This recipe may start with ordinary bread, but it ends with delicious.

Discover Nice’s food traditions with chef, sommelier, and cookbook author Viktorija Todorovska. She leads a class called, Rosé Wine Tasting with Niçoise Street Food. Wine pairing is an art form that Viktorija will discuss during the class. Classic Niçoise street food (pissaladière, niçoise olives, socca, fresh chevre, and great bread) is an excellent match to rosé wine, and participants will have a chance to nibble.

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Martine Bertin-Peterson

Martine Bertin-Peterson

Goût et Voyage, LLC was founded by Martine Bertin-Peterson to bring together her lifetime passions of travel, cooking and culture. Creating unforgettable memories, Martine serves as the escort for all Goût et Voyage culinary travel adventures and serves as chef de cuisine for customized cooking classes at home in Bucks County, PA. 
 
Martine’s background and experience are as wide-ranging as her interests. She has decades of cooking experience gained through formal and informal cooking courses in the United States, France and Italy. Born in France and fluent in 5 languages, Martine has travelled to more than 50 countries across 5 continents. She has escorted travel groups throughout Europe and Latin America over the past 25+ years and for the past 5 years has focused on creating unique gourmet experiences for her clients in Provence. 

President of the Alliance Française of Doylestown, PA. Martine currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband who, along with her NYC-based daughter, are regular and willing subjects for her travel and culinary adventures.

2 Comments

  1. blank
    October 1, 2019 at 2:46 pm — Reply

    I just love these recipes posted on the site. Just love them! Keep them coming, please. Gorgeous!

    • blank
      October 2, 2019 at 7:31 am — Reply

      Bonjour Cheryl, Thank you for following and contributing to Perfectly Provence.

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