Les Petits Farcis: Stuffed Provencal Vegetables
Like all great recipes, les Petits Farcis has numerous variations. So have fun experimenting with different stuffings and seasonal vegetables.
Ingredients
The Vegetables:
- 4 small tomatoes
- 4 round zucchini (courgette)
- 2 small eggplant (aubergine)
- 4 small sweet peppers
- 2 red onions
For the Stuffing:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet onion chopped fine
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground pork or lamb or beef
- 3 slices bread chopped
- 6 oz milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp thyme chopped
- 1 tbsp basil chopped
- 1 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
Prepare the Vegetables:
- Tomatoes: Cut tops off and scoop insides out leaving a shell. Chop insides and save for stuffing.
- Zucchini: Cut tops off and use a melon baller or spoon to remove insides. Blanch in boiling water. Cool off in ice water then drain well. Chop insides and save for stuffing.
- Eggplants: Cut in half and roast skin side down on an oiled sheet pan at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes, or until tender. Scoop out excess pulp and save. Chop insides and save for stuffing.
- Peppers: Cut tops off and roast on the same pan as eggplants for 30 minutes.
- Onions: Boil in salted water till tender, about twenty minutes. Carefully remove two outer layers from each onion, trying to keep them intact. Chop insides and save for stuffing.
Make the Stuffing:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet and cook onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Add ground meat and cook until browned and fully cooked.
- Add all the vegetable innards and cook for 5 more minutes, or until everything is tender. Remove from heat.
- Mix bread and milk together, then mix into ground meat. Add eggs and herbs and mix well.
- Stuff all the vegetables with the ground meat mixture, sprinkle with parmesan and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 30 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. Cover with vegetable tops on and bake 5 minutes longer.
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