Name: Stuffed vegetables
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 large tomatoes; 1 medium-sized zucchini; 2 bay leaves; 2 tbsp olive oil, divided; 3 tsp fine sea salt (and more to salt the hollowed-out vegetables); 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground; 85g crustless stale white bread (3 oz); 180ml whole milk (¾ cup); 2 garlic cloves; 1 large onion; 5 parsley sprigs; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 250g ground beef, not lean (9 oz or ½ lb); 100g ground pork sausage (3.5 oz or ¼ lb); 100g ground veal (3.5 oz or ¼ lb), or replace with ground chicken/turkey or more ground beef; 8 tsp dried breadcrumbs; 30g butter (2 tbsp)

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Stuffed vegetables are one of my favorite family recipes. The melt-in-your-mouth vegetables are juicy and flavorful. The stuffing, made with 3 different types of ground meat, is super tender and I dare you to find a tastier one! This is a delicious family meal, well worth the effort.

My dad makes stuffed vegetables all summer long with vegetables from my mum’s garden. Unfortunately, I don’t have a garden patch and I have to buy my vegetables. But it doesn’t prevent my stuffed vegetables from being French comfort food at its best!

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🌊 Mediterranean classic
🔪 Seasonality
📋 Step by step
💭 Top tips

🌊 Mediterranean classic

My recipe comes from my dad who lived half of his life in southeast France. Take a bite of stuffed vegetables and it will immediately transport you to Provence, in the middle of the lavender fields and buzzing grasshoppers. Okay, I’ll admit that a lot of regions/cultures have their version of stuffed vegetables. This summer staple can be found in other places than the French Riviera.

In Turkey, there is way less meat in their stuffed vegetables (dolma) and they are traditionally made with small green bell peppers. Greek dolmades also have less meat and they are more vinegary and lemony. Whichever version of stuffed vegetables you eat, you’re in for a great meal! However, I grew up with the French version (farcies) so I’ll always have a slight preference for French stuffed vegetables.

🔪 Seasonality

You can use this stuffing to stuff all kinds of vegetables. My dad makes stuffed vegetables with whatever my mum just pulled out of her garden. Tomatoes and zucchini but also green peppers, chili peppers, onions, potatoes… You can stuff anything and it will taste delicious! Keep in mind though that tomatoes and zucchini are rather soft. If you want to stuff something “harder” or thick-skinned such as quartered eggplants, potatoes, or ball zucchini you will have to boil them first for 10 min before carving.

📋 Step by step

Step 1: Carve the tomatoes and zucchini

Slice off the tops of the tomatoes and discard them. With a small sharp knife, cut all along the inside of the tomatoes. Remove the tomato flesh and set it aside. Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut it in half lengthwise. Then cut into half widths. Remove the zucchini flesh, leaving a border. Set the zucchini flesh aside.

Step 2: Cook the tomato and zucchini flesh

Chop the tomato and zucchini flesh and put into a medium-sized non-stick pan. Add the bay leaves, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Stir and cook for 20 min over medium-high heat.

Step 3: Make the meat stuffing

Soak the bread in milk. Heat a medium-sized non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and cook the chopped onion for 8 min. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook for 2 min. Add them to a mixing bowl along with chopped parsley. Mash the bread and add to the bowl, along with the meat, egg, and seasoning. Mix.

Step 4: Bake

Spread the cooked vegetables at the bottom of a large baking dish. Place the hollowed-out vegetables in the dish. Generously stuff them. Top each with breadcrumbs and butter. Bake the stuffed vegetables for 45 min.

💭 Top tips

serve the meal with something that can soak up the delicious sauce: In my family, we serve plain rice with stuffed vegetables but crispy polenta, slices of bread, or pasta would work too.

double: If you want to make more you can easily double the recipe. However, unless you have a massive roasting pan/baking dish you won’t be able to cook everything in one pan. If the pan is overcrowded, the stuffed vegetables won’t cook as well. I would divide everything into two pans and bake them using the bottom rack and top rack. Make sure there is enough space between both pans for the heat to circulate. Midway through the baking time swap the places. Move the one on top to the bottom rack and the one on the bottom rack to the top. This will ensure a more even baking.

it’s a freezer-friendly recipe: After the stuffed vegetables have cooled down, put them in an airtight container, or a freezing bag, along with any leftover stewed vegetables (if there are any). You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then put them in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Cover the stuffed vegetables loosely with foil and reheat them in an oven preheated to 180°C (355°F) for 20 to 30 min.

leftover stuffing: If you have any, you can use it to make some very nice meatballs.

Stuffed vegetables

Author: Amélie
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Category: Main course
Method: Oven
Cuisine: French

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Description

Stuffed vegetables are French comfort food at its best! The vegetables are stuffed with the most delicious meat stuffing, topped with breadcrumbs, and baked until juicy and tender.

Ingredients

Scale

4 large tomatoes
1 medium-sized zucchini
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
3 tsp fine sea salt (and more to salt the hollowed-out vegetables)
1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
85g crustless stale white bread (3 oz)
180ml whole milk (¾ cup)
2 garlic cloves
1 large onion
5 parsley sprigs
1 egg, lightly beaten
250g ground beef, not lean (9 oz or ½ lb)
100g ground pork sausage (3.5 oz or ¼ lb)
100g ground veal (3.5 oz or ¼ lb), or replace with ground chicken/turkey or more ground beef
8 tsp dried breadcrumbs
30g butter (2 tbsp)

Instructions

Prepare the tomatoes and the zucchini. Slice off the tops of the tomatoes and discard them. With a small sharp knife, cut all along the inside of the tomatoes, trying not to pierce the bottom. Remove the tomato flesh and set it aside. If there are tomato seeds or juice left in the tomatoes, pour them into the sink or a bowl and discard them. Trim the ends off the zucchini and cut it in half lengthwise. Then cut into half widths so that you will have 4 pieces of zucchini. Remove the zucchini flesh with the small knife, leaving a 1cm (½ in) border, trying not to pierce the bottom. Set the flesh aside. Salt the cavities of the tomatoes and zucchini. Place them on several layers of paper towels cut side down.
Cook the flesh. Chop the tomato and zucchini flesh and place into a medium-sized non-stick pan. Add the bay leaves, 1 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of fine sea salt, and ½ tsp of black pepper. Stir with a wooden spoon and place over medium-high heat. Cook for 20 min, stirring from time to time to prevent catching. Grease the largest roasting pan or baking dish you have with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Spread the stewed vegetables at the bottom and discard the bay leaves.
Make the stuffing. Roughly cut the bread into big chunks and place them in a bowl. Pour the milk over it and set aside for now. Peel the garlic cloves, finely dice them, and set aside. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Heat a medium-sized non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and once hot add the chopped onion. Cook for 8 min, stirring from time to time, until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 min. Tip the content of the pan into a large mixing bowl. Pick the leaves from the parsley sprigs and discard the sprigs. Finely chop the leaves and add them to the mixing bowl. Squeeze out the milk from the bread chunk and pour the excess milk into the sink. Mash the bread with your fingers or a fork and add to the mixing bowl. Add the meat and the egg to the mixing bowl and season with 2 tsp of fine sea salt and ½ tsp of black pepper. Mix the stuffing thoroughly by hand for 3 min, until everything is well combined.
Stuff and bake. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Place the hollowed-out tomatoes and zucchini boats in the roasting pan, spacing them well apart if you have the room. Generously stuff the tomatoes and zucchini boats. Top each stuffed vegetable with 1 tsp of breadcrumbs and a knob of butter. Bake the stuffed vegetables in the middle of the oven for 45 min. The vegetables will release some juice while cooking but check towards the end that the bottom of your pan isn’t too dry, if so you can add a splash of water. If the stuffed vegetables are browning too much for your liking, you can cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Once cooked, remove the pan from the oven and wait for 10 min before serving the stuffed vegetables. Don’t forget the stewed caramelized vegetables in the pan, they are very tasty.