Stuffed vegetables

Okay I know it’s the season of pumpkin latte and roasted chestnut, of cocooning under a plaid with a cup of tea and a good book while the days are getting shorter. My mum just cleaned up all of the finished summer plants in her garden and is preparing her soil for spring. I should switch to recipes involving a bagful of apples or a bunch of leeks but I couldn’t help myself. I just had to make and have one last batch of stuffed vegetables.

It’s one of my favorite family recipes, made every year by my dad, the household cook. To me, this stuffed vegetables recipe is comfort food at its best! The melt-in-your-mouth vegetables are so juicy and flavorful, especially if you make it at the peak season of whichever veggies you picked. The meat stuffing is super tender, plus it’s made with 3 different types of ground meats for extra tastiness. My dad always serves this meal with rice to soak up the sauce, but I reckon it would be just as good with polenta, pasta or slices of fresh crusty bread.

VEGGIES AND STUFFING

You can use this stuffing to stuff all kinds of vegetables. In summer my dad makes this adaptable recipe with whatever my mum just pulled out of her garden; tomatoes, zucchinis, green peppers, sweet peppers, onions, potatoes… I have a slight preference for tomatoes and zucchinis, but seriously you can stuff anything and it will taste delicious.  

If I have any leftover stuffing I usually use it to make delicious meatballs, ravioli or shepherd’s pie,…  A mouth-watering stuffing is also a great way to trick your kids into eating their veggies you know.  It’s not really a one-pot quick dinner recipe as there is a certain amount of steps and dishes involved BUT it’s well worth the effort and a great weekend meal.

LÉGUMES FARCIS

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

I lived for 3 years in Turkey and I tasted so many variations of sarma and dolma, it’s astonishing (all excellent of course). I am gonna take the easy way out and say this dish is from the Mediterranean, shared by many countries which all have their own take on it. In Turkey, there is way less meat in their dolma and they are traditionally made with green pepper. The same goes for Greece but their dolmades are a bit more vinegary and lemony. Well, I grew up with the French version so I’ll always have a slight preference for French stuffed vegetables aka farcis but whichever you decide to eat, you’re in for a great meal!  

FREEZER FRIENDLY RECIPE

⇨ Can I freeze stuffed vegetables? Yes! This great family meal is very freezer friendly. Instead of halving the recipe I would totally suggest you cook everything and freeze half (or you could easily double it). Later you’ll be so thankful to have frozen leftovers to help you beat up the winter blues with a delicious dinner filled with summery flavors.  After the stuffed vegetables have cooled down, put them in a plastic container with a lid and place in the freezer.  You can keep the stuffed vegetables in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then put them in a baking dish, cover with foil and reheat the stuffed vegetables in a preheated oven to 180°C (356°F) for 20 to 30 min.

Stuffed vegetables

• Author: Amélie
• Prep Time: 45
• Cook Time: 95
• Total Time: 140
• Yield: 2 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: French

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Description

This stuffed vegetables recipe is comfort food at its best! The juicy vegetables are stuffed with the most tender and tasty meat stuffing. You can easily swap the tomatoes and zucchinis with some winter veggies.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 big slices of stale bread, without the crust

• 180ml milk (3/4 cup)

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 4 medium tomatoes

• 2 round zucchinis

• 1 bay leaf

• 30g uncooked rice (1/8 cup)

• 1 egg

• half a bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• 200g ground beef (7 oz)

• 100g ground veal (3.5 oz)

• 100g ground pork (3.5 oz)

• 6 tsp breadcrumbs

• 6 knobs of butter

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Instructions

1. Roughly cut the bread in big chunks and place them in a bowl. Heat the milk in a microwave or in a small pan and pour it on top of the bread. Let everything soak for 20 to 25 min.

    

2. Slowly cook the chopped onion and garlic on low heat for 10 min or until they are soft and translucent with 1 tbsp olive oil. Then set aside.

    

3. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and zucchinis. Using a dessert spoon scoop out most of the flesh of the vegetables and set the flesh aside. Salt the hollowed tomatoes and zucchinis and place them on a cooling rack, cut side down.

    

4. Chop the flesh of the tomatoes and zucchinis. Put it in a small saucepan with the bay leaf. Season with salt & black pepper and simmer on low heat for 25 min or until it the liquid has reduced by half. If your veggies weren’t very juicy to start with, you can add a splash of water. Mix from time to time to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

    

5. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Submerge the hollowed zucchinis in the water and let them cook for 5 min. Take them out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put them back on the cooling rack. Pre-cooking the zucchinis will ensure that their skin will be tender enough to eat.

    

6. Now cook the rice in the boiling salted water, 1 min less than the recommended cooking time written on the package. Drain and pour cold water on it to stop the cooking process.

    

7. It’s time to make the stuffing. Pour off any excess milk that the bread didn’t absorb and mash the bread mixture with a fork. Break the egg in a mixing bowl and add the parsley, ground meats, mashed bread mixture, rice, the onions and garlic and season. Mix thoroughly by hand until everything is combined.

    

8. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Grease a baking dish that’s big enough to easily fit all the stuffed vegetables. Put the stewed flesh of the vegetables at the bottom of the baking dish.

    

9. Put some dry rice inside the tomatoes and zucchinis. It will absorb any excess liquid while in the oven. Stuff the tomatoes and zucchinis generously with your delicious stuffing. Top each stuffed vegetable with 1 tsp of breadcrumbs and a knob of butter.

    

10. Place the stuffed tomatoes and zucchinis (and their tops if you want to use/eat them) in the baking dish.

     

11. Cook the stuffed vegetables for 45 min in the preheated oven. The vegetables will release some juice while cooking but check from time to time that the bottom of your baking dish isn’t too dry, if so you can add a splash of water.

     

12. Put the baking dish on a cooling rack and let the stuffed vegetables cool for 10 min before serving.

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Notes

Serve with rice, fried polenta or slices of fresh crusty bread to soak up the mouth-watering sauce.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 3 stuffed vegetables
• Calories: 685
• Fat: 24.5

Keywords: stuffed vegetables, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed zucchinis, meat stuffing, dinner, french recipe