Les Petits Farcis Niçois

Growing up I didn’t want to eat vegetables.  Kind of a kid’s thing I guess.  But my mom didn’t think the same way and made sure I had my daily dose of veggies.  Mostly in a form of vegetable soup.  And mainly every night.  Needless to say, I didn’t like it but my growing up body thanks her now.  If I dont see veggies on my plate after a few days, my body goes into shock...  Sometimes she would make tomatoes and zucchini stuffed with meat, rice, cheese and the inside of the veggies she hollowed out.  Now these veggies I loved and couldn’t stop eating them one after the other, the same way I ate the crepes she also made!!

Fast forward 40 years and I still love my mom’s stuffed tomatoes and zucchini.  I’ve started making them about 20 years ago and there are still some of my favorites things to eat.  Neither of us make them often though. They take time.  This version is a bit faster and you can even cut down on the time by not sautéing or cooking the vegetables ahead of time.  They will render more liquid this way when they are baked but they remain very tasty.  Also there is no rice to cook or cheese to grate in these so that’s even less steps in the process.  So here is my newest version (cause everyone and their mother’s has one!) of the petits farcis niçois (which you find on the menu of a lot of Provençal restaurants in and around Nice).

For about 24 petits farcis

6 very small red onion, peeled

6 to 10 very small tomatoes

6 small round zucchini (or 3 long ones cut into half lenghtwise and thirds crosswise)

6 large white mushrooms

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 

1 pound ground beef

4 ounces herbed sausage

1 slice soft bread, crumbled

1 egg

2/3 cup red wine

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add salt.  Cut the 1/3 off each onion, tomato and zucchini and reserve.  With a sharp melon baller, remove the inside of the onions leaving about a 1/4-inch shell.  Plunge the shells in the boiling water and cook 5 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

Place the inside of 4 onions in a food processor.  Discard the inside of the other two.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the chopped onions and saute for 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown.  Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 5 more minutes.

Hollow out the tomatoes and zucchini and transfer to the food processor.  Remove the feet from the mushrooms and add them to the processor as well.  Process until chopped.  Not too fine.  Add this to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes, adding salt and pepper.

Plunge the zucchini shells in the boiling water and cook 5 minutes.  Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and set upside down.  Season the tomato shells and mushroom caps with salt and pepper and turn them upside down as well.

Add the red wine to the skillet and cook until evaporated.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Cool slightly and add the meats, bread, egg, and parsley.  Mix well.

Stuff the vegetables with this mixture and place in a large roasting pan.  Place the tops of the onions, tomatoes, and zucchini slightly back on top of the stuffed shells.  

Bake at 180ºC or 350ºF for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Halfway through, spoon some of the juices onto each farcis.   Add a bit of water to the pan if needed to deglaze and use this liquid to baste the 

farcis.

The farcis are great reheated in the oven or microwave.  They also freeze really well so make sure to make plenty!!