From Nice to Marseille, every family has their own take on Petits Farcis—meaning “little stuffed.” Be it with pork or beef, with bread or rice, with parsley or basil, or with eggs or feta cheese, these sausage-stuffed vegetables are always a favorite in Provençal homes. They are enjoyed cold as an appetizer or hot as a main and are even better reheated the next day. This dish is all about smart use of your leftovers. It can be adapted to what you have on hand—ground or chopped meats, rice, stale bread—and made with vegetables that are in season.
SERVES 6
2–3 slices stale bread
½ cup (125 ml) milk (whole or 2%)
2 cloves garlic
5–6 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley, stemmed
1 lb (454 g) ground sausage (pork and/or beef)
2 sprigs of dried thyme, stemmed
2 large eggs
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tomatoes
1 red onion
1 zucchini
1 bell pepper (yellow, red or green)
1 eggplant
1 tbsp (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
To prepare the stuffing, crumble the stale bread in a bowl, and cover it with the milk. Let it soak for 1 to 2 minutes and drain. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely with the parsley. In a large bowl, mix the ground sausage, bread, garlic, parsley, dried thyme and eggs, with a pinch of salt and ground pepper.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4), with a rack in the middle.
Cut the hats (tops) from the tomatoes and gently carve the insides out with a spoon. Sprinkle the insides with a pinch of salt, and place the tomatoes upside down on a linen or paper towel to absorb the juice. Peel the onion, cut a hat, and carve out the inside with a serrated spoon or small knife. Finely chop the removed flesh from the onion, and set aside. Divide the zucchini in two, widthwise, and cut each part in two again, lengthwise, to create four little boats. Carve out the inside of the zucchini boats, chop the removed flesh and set aside. Cut the hat from the pepper, and remove the inside/seeds. Remove the peduncle from the eggplant, cut it in half widthwise, carve out the inside and chop the removed flesh.
Heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of extra-virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the chopped flesh of the tomatoes, onion, zucchini and eggplant. Cook until golden and mostly moisture-free, about 5 minutes.
Add the vegetable flesh to the stuffing and mix. Spoon the stuffing into all the hollowed vegetables, making sure they’re well-packed. Place the hats back onto the vegetables, and place the vegetables standing in a baking dish, nice and tight. Season to taste.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Near the end, if the vegetable hats are browning too much, place a sheet of foil on top. Allow the dish to rest for 30 minutes in the oven, with the oven turned off, before serving.