Along the stretch of coast from Nice to Monaco, summer means petits farcis: little vegetables, hollowed out and stuffed, baked side by side in one dish until their tops are crusted and their edges caramelized. Monaco claims its own version, the petits farcis monégasques, and they turn up on family tables, on buffet platters and at the markets, where they are sold ready made. The idea grew out of thrift, as most good ideas in Riviera kitchens did: the scooped out flesh of the vegetables, yesterday's bread and a little leftover meat become the filling, and nothing goes to waste.

They are one of those dishes that improves when nobody is paying attention to it. Hot from the oven they are a supper; an hour later, at room temperature, they are better; the next day, cold from a picnic basket on a sunny balcony above the harbor, they are something close to perfect. Small enough to eat in two bites and sturdy enough to travel, they are the most civilized trackside food on the Riviera.

The vegetable cups

Ingredients

• 6 small ripe but firm tomatoes
• 3 round zucchini
• 3 small bell peppers
• 3 medium white or yellow onions
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Method

1. Slice the top quarter off each tomato and keep it as a lid. Scoop out the seeds and soft flesh with the teaspoon into a bowl, leaving walls about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Sprinkle the insides lightly with salt and turn them upside down on paper towels to drain for 20 minutes.
2. Cut lids off the round zucchini, or cut ordinary zucchini into cups or boats. Scoop out the flesh, leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) walls, and add the flesh to the bowl. Cut the tops off the peppers, keep them as lids, and pull out the seeds and white ribs.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the whole onions for 8 minutes, then lift them out. Add the zucchini cups and pepper shells and cook for 3 minutes, then lift them out and drain them upside down. When the onions are cool enough, cut off the top third and push out the inner layers, leaving a shell two or three layers thick. Chop the inner onion layers finely for the stuffing.

The stuffing

Ingredients

• 2 cups (80 g) day old white bread
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 lb (450 g) ground veal, or half ground beef and half ground pork
• 3 oz (85 g) cooked ham
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (60 g) Parmesan
• 1/4 cup (15 g) flat leaf parsley
• 6 basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• a pinch nutmeg

Method

1. Put the bread in a bowl, pour over the milk and leave it for 10 minutes. Then squeeze it firmly in your hands and crumble it into the large mixing bowl. Discard the extra milk.
2. Chop the scooped tomato and zucchini flesh roughly. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat, add the chopped onion centers and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and the chopped flesh and cook, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
3. Push the vegetables to one side, add the ground meat and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up with the spoon, until it has lost all its pink color. Stir everything together and let it cool for 10 minutes.
4. Add the meat and vegetable mixture to the soaked bread, then the ham, eggs, two thirds of the Parmesan, the parsley, basil, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well with a spoon or your hands.

Filling and baking

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
• 1/2 cup (30 g) dry breadcrumbs
• the remaining third Parmesan

Method

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Brush the baking dish with half the olive oil. Fill each vegetable generously with stuffing, mounding it slightly above the rim, and set them in the dish close together. Put the tomato and pepper lids on top or beside them.
2. Mix the dry breadcrumbs with the remaining Parmesan and sprinkle a little over each exposed stuffing top. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over everything.
3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the tops are deep golden and the vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. If the dish looks dry halfway through, spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of water into the bottom.
4. Let the farcis rest in the dish for at least 15 minutes before serving. They are good warm, at room temperature, or cold the next day.

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