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Petits farcis niçois
Nice's little stuffed vegetables with rice, herbs and cheese (lu farcit)
From June to September the traiteurs around the cours Saleya market in Nice sell trays of petits farcis: round courgettes, tomatoes and onions hollowed out, refilled and baked until wrinkled and caramelised at the edges. Niçois families often use up leftover daube in the stuffing; this meatless version, common on Fridays and at summer picnics, uses rice, herbs, the vegetables' own flesh and Parmesan. Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if that matters to you. They are as good at room temperature the next day as hot from the oven. Chef's tip: choose vegetables of a similar size, so they all finish cooking at the same moment.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the vegetables
For the stuffing
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What you'll need
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 375°F (350°F fan). Cook 2 ⅞ oz short-grain or risotto rice in plenty of boiling salted water for 12 minutes, until just tender with a little bite. Drain and spread it out to cool.
12 minStep 2: Cut a lid off each tomato. Scoop the seeds and pulp into a sieve set over a bowl and keep the juice. Sprinkle the insides with a pinch of 1 tsp salt and turn the tomatoes upside down to drain for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 3: Cut lids off the round courgettes (or halve long ones) and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon, leaving walls about 5 mm thick. Peel 4 small white onions, cut off the tops and simmer them in salted water for 8 minutes, then push out the centres, leaving 2–3 outer layers as cups.
10 minStep 4: Blanch the hollow 4 round courgettes in the same water for 3 minutes, until they just bend when pressed. Drain them upside down.
3 minStep 5: Finely chop the scooped courgette flesh, the onion centres and the drained 4 medium tomatoes pulp. Fry them in half the 4 tbsp olive oil with 2 cloves garlic over a medium heat for 8–10 minutes, until soft and the pan is almost dry. Common mistake: skipping this step or stopping while the mix is still wet; the stuffing then weeps and the vegetables go soggy.
10 minStep 6: Mix the fried vegetables with the rice, ½ oz flat-leaf parsley, ⅓ oz basil leaves, ½ tsp dried thyme, 1 ¾ oz Parmesan, 1 egg, half the 1 oz dried breadcrumbs, the rest of the salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Taste; it should be well seasoned.
Step 7: Pack the stuffing into the vegetables in a dome, put the tomato lids back on if you like, and set them in an oiled baking dish. Scatter the rest of the breadcrumbs over the open ones, drizzle with the remaining oil and pour 4 tablespoons of the tomato juice into the dish.
Step 8: Bake for 45–50 minutes, until the courgettes are tender when pierced with a knife, the onions are golden and the tops are crisp and browned.
50 minStep 9: Rest for 10 minutes before serving, with a green salad. They keep for 2 days in the fridge; bring them back to room temperature or warm through.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does petits farcis niçois take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of round courgettes?
- Cucumber, same weight (raw dishes only).
- What can I use instead of medium tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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