Words by Rosa Jackson. Photos by Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen.
Since I chose to name my cooking school after this emblematic dish of stuffed vegetables (petit means “small” and farcis means “stuffed”), I needed to come up with a version that would meet the approval of any mamie who might pop her head into my kitchen and quiz me about the ingredients. My recipe started with one that the chef of La Merenda, Dominique Le Stanc, shared with me during my early days in Nice. Over the years, I have made it my own, experimenting with different combinations of vegetables and meat. What makes the recipe a little unusual are the inclusion of mushrooms in the filling, which somehow enhances its meatiness, and the absence of bread, which I have come to see (controversially, I’m sure!) as unnecessary filler.
My butcher prepares a mix of ground veal, beef, and pork that is perfect for petits farcis, but I have used veal sausage, Italian pork sausage, hand-minced free-range chicken breast, and green lentils for a vegetarian version (see the Variation). Be sure to adapt the seasoning according to the meat you use; sausage meat will require less seasoning that plain ground meat. The meats are not precooked; cooking the meat inside the vegetables preserves its moisture and creates delicious pan juices for the crucial step of basting.
The vegetables used for stuffing should ideally be no larger than a golf ball; bigger ones can be cut into bite-sized pieces and hollowed out to make boats. As convivial to make (try to enlist help if you can) as it is to eat, this dish should be served warm, not hot, to best appreciate its delicate flavors.
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Les petits farcis niçois - Little stuffed vegetables
Ingredients
- 6 small round zucchini or baby zucchini or 2 regular zucchini
- 6 round spring onions, bulbs measuring no more than 2 inches (5 cm) across, or 3 medium red or white onions, peeled but the roots left intact
- 6 small tomatoes, measuring about 2 inches (5 cm) across
- fine sea salt
- 3 mini sweet peppers or 1 red or yellow bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
- 2 medium zucchini, about 6 inches (15 cm) long
- 15 medium button or cremini mushrooms, about 11 ounces/300 g
- 2 round spring onions, white parts only, or 1 small white onion
- 5 tablespoons (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces (215 g) ground veal or beef
- 8 ounces (215 g) ground pork or sausage meat
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- ⅔ cup (50 g) freshly grated Parmesan or Sbrinz
- ½ cup (10 g) basil leaves, thinly sliced
- ½ cup (10 g) flat-leaf parsley leaves, thinly sliced
- 6 ounces 160 g mesclun (about 3 cups)
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely minced shallot or thinly sliced spring onion, optional
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 to 8 tablespoons (90 to 120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, or substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) toasted walnut oil plus 3 to 4 tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) mild-tasting olive oil
Instructions
- Half-fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.
- For round zucchini, cut off the caps and set aside. Hollow out the insides using a melon baller or spoon, leaving about a ¼-inch (0.5 cm) shell. For baby zucchini, cut them lengthwise in half and scoop out the seeds with a small spoon to make boats. If using long zucchini, cut each one into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks and hollow out each one from one end, leaving a ¼-inch (0.5 cm) wall at the other end. Discard the pulp and seeds.
- If using spring onions, cut them lengthwise in half, then make a small cut next to the root and scoop out the inner layers, leaving 2 outer layers. If using medium onions, cut each one into quarters and proceed as for the spring onions. Reserve the inner layers for the filling.
- Cut a cap from each tomato and set aside. Hollow out the tomatoes using a spoon; reserve the pulp to add to a tomato sauce or gazpacho, if you wish. Sprinkle the insides of the tomatoes with fine salt and place them upside down on a plate lined with paper towels to drain; keep the caps next to them.
- If using mini peppers, cut them lengthwise in half and discard the core and seeds. If using a large pepper, cut it lengthwise in half, then cut each half lengthwise and then crosswise in half, to make 4 boats.
- Add the coarse salt to the boiling water, then add the hollowed-out zucchini (and the caps for the round zucchini), onions, and peppers (cook these in batches if necessary). Bring the water back to a boil and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of knife but still bright colored (the onions should start to look translucent). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a bowl of ice water for 2 minutes, then remove and set upside down on paper towels to drain. Reserve 1 cup (240 ml) of the cooking water and discard the rest.
- Cut the zucchini, mushrooms, and onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks and place in a large bowl, along with the reserved inside layers of onion. Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the food processor, finely mince the vegetables, using the pulse button (some cooks use a meat grinder instead; in this case, set a colander in the bowl before adding the vegetables so any excess liquid can drain off). Transfer the minced vegetables to a large bowl.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the minced vegetables, along with the thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, their juices evaporate, and they start to turn golden, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic, and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and stir in the meat with a fork, mixing thoroughly. Add the Parmesan or Sbrinz, eggs, basil, and parsley and season well with salt and pepper, going easy on the salt if you are using sausage meat.
- To roast the stuffed vegetables
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Rub a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil and arrange the vegetables in the pan. Stuff the vegetables generously with the meat mixture, but do not pack it down (you do not want a hard ball of stuffing). Top the tomatoes and the round zucchini with their caps. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and pour ½ cup (120 ml) of the reserved vegetable cooking water around them.
- Roast for 15 minutes, then baste the vegetables with the pan juices and roast for another 15 minutes. If the pan juices start to dry up, add a little more of the reserved cooking water. When the vegetables are browned on top, remove from the oven and baste again with the pan juices (this step is crucial).
- Toss the mesclun with the vinaigrette. Serve the petits farcis warm, arranging the vegetables in a circle with the dressed mesclun in the middle.
- Place the vinegar in a small bowl or jar and add the shallot or spring onion, if using, mustard, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until combined, or seal the jar and shake it well. If you have time, you can let the shallot or onion soak in this mixture for 15 to 30 minutes to soften its flavor.
- Slowly add 6 tablespoons (90 ml) olive oil (or 3 tablespoons each walnut oil and mild-tasting olive oil), whisking to emulsify the vinaigrette, or add the oil all at once to the jar and shake until the vinaigrette looks smooth. Taste and add up to 2 tablespoons more olive oil (or 1 tablespoon each walnut and mild olive oil) if the vinaigrette tastes too acidic.
Notes
Niçoise: Market-Inspired Cooking from France’s Sunniest City by Rosa Jackson, photos by Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen (W. W. Norton & Company, 2024).