Les Petits Farcis Niçois (or Petits Farcis à la Provençale)

Le Chef’s Wife Les Petits Farcis Niçois Recipe is adapted and translated from French from Guy Gedda and Robert Monetti’s “L’Authentique Cuisine de Provence”, Tian de légumes à la Provençale along with the advice and guidance of Le Chef, Sébastien Giannini.

Every time we return to France, Mamie, Le Chef’s Grandmother, asks me what I would like to have for lunch when we arrive. “Les Petits Farcis!” I say without hesitation.  Over the phone I can almost hear her wringing her 90 year old hands, marked with arthritis from a long life of raising 4 children, working hard and cooking for others as she says “Des farcis? Oh la la! C’est du travail ça, ma belle…” Translation: Do you have any idea how much work goes in to this dish?? Obviously not, but I will still make it for you, because it makes you so happy.

Well Mamie, I finally took the time to make les Petits Farcis Niçois and yes, they are a lot of work but also oh so so good.

Here is the perfect dish to cook on a rainy afternoon. Open a bottle of Rosé, put on some music by Brigitte Bardot or Yves Montand, tie up your apron and settle in. 

Les Petits Farcis Niçois

Yield: 6 servings

Preparation time: about 45 minutes.

Cooking time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Equipment needed:

• 2 rectangular baking dishes
• 2 mixing bowls
• Sharp knife ( I use this Wusthof knife for almost everything in the kitchen)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of dried oregano (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped finely)
• 1/2 tsp of dried thyme (or 1 tbsp fresh chopped finely)
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 large tomatoes
• 3 bell peppers (green, red or yellow – your preference!)
• 4 zucchinis
• 2 large white onions
• 1/2 pound of ground pork sausage
• 1/2 pound of ground beef
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 bouquet of parsley
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

The Tomatoes:

Rinse the tomatoes with cold water. Dry them and cut off the top 1/4 of the way down. With a spoon, scoop out the insides and put the insides to the side in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of salt inside.

On medium high heat, drizzle some olive oil in the pan and lightly sear the tomatoes  for 3-4 minutes, turning sides once they begin to blister.

Place the tomatoes in a baking dish set aside with a sprinkle of olive oil

The Zucchinis:

Rinse and dry the zucchinis. Cut the top 1/4 off of the zucchini length wise. Scoop out the insides with a spoon to create a little  boat. Add the zucchini insides to the bowl set aside with the tomato insides. Sear the zucchinis on both sides in the frying pan like with the tomatoes. Place in a separate baking dish with a sprinkle of salt.

The Peppers

Rinse and dry the peppers. Cut the top 1/4 off of the peppers length wise. Scoop out the insides with a spoon to create a little  boat leaving the stem for visual effect. Add the tops of the peppers to the bowl set aside with the tomato tops and zucchini. Sear the peppers on both sides in the  frying pan like with the tomatoes. Place in the baking dish with a sprinkle of salt next to the tomatoes

The Onions

Peel the onions and place them in a sauce pan of boiling water with the bay leaves for about 15 minutes until they become tender. Slice in two lengthwise from the top to the bottom. Take out the center part of the onion and place with the other vegetable pieces in the side bowl.

**Note: You can also use potatoes and eggplants for this dish**

Stuffing Les Petits Farcis Niçois:

In the second mixing bowl, add together the ground pork sausage and the ground beef.

Rinse and dry the parsley bouquet. Finely chop the leaves and the stems together and add to the meat mixture.

Peel and finely chop the garlic. Finely chop the set aside vegetable insides and add together with garlic to the meat mixture.

Add salt, pepper and nutmeg along with half of the bread crumbs to the meat mixture and mix well together. Here I like to roll up my sleeves and dig in there with my hands! 

Take a soup spoon and fill each seared vegetable with the meat mixture. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs on the top of the stuffed vegetables.

Baking Les Petits Farcis Niçois

Place the baking dish with the onions and the zucchinis in the oven first (they take longer to cook). Bake for 20 minutes then add the second baking dish with the tomatoes and peppers. (Le Chef’s Wife Tip: use the 20 minutes to clean the kitchen and start the dishwasher! Nothing like having a clean kitchen when you pull your dinner out of the oven.)

Bake both dishes together uncovered for 45 minutes.

The vegetables should be soft yet hold their shape. Let cool slightly and then serve with a side salad for a delicious summer meal accompanied by a chilled glass of Rosé, of course.

Tastes just like the South of France.

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Au plaisir,

Le Chef’s Wife