Petits Farcis Provencaux

Au Comptoir chef Daniel McGee takes stuffable vegetables and renders them meaty.

Filling: 1 slice white bread 2 tbsp (30 mL) milk 1 onion, diced 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil 9 oz (250g) ground veal 9 oz (250g) ground pork 1 egg 1 oz (28 g) Parmesan cheese, grated 1 tsp (5 mL) thyme ¼ tsp (1 mL) fennel seeds 1 tsp (1 mL) chili flakes Salt to taste Vegetables for stuffing: 4 medium tomatoes 4 pattypan squash 4 eggplants 4 bell peppers 4 small round green zucchini or summer squash

Remove the crust from the white bread and discard. Crumble the centre of the bread and soak in the milk for 5 minutes. Drain off any excess milk. Cut the onion and garlic into a very small dice. Add to a pot with 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil and sweat gently until soft and translucent. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground veal, cooked onion and garlic, egg, milk soaked bread, Parmesan cheese, thyme, fennel seeds, and chili flakes. Season with salt and mix by hand until fully combined.

Remove the top 1⁄3 of each of the stuffing vegetables, reserve the tops for later. Scoop out most of the insides of each vegetable. Be sure to leave the walls of the vegetables intact. Discard the insides.

Divide the meat mixture evenly to stuff inside the vegetables. Place stuffed vegetables on a baking sheet and bake in 350 F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place the tops of each vegetable back on top of their stuffed bottoms. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until meat mixture is cooked and vegetables are soft.

Makes 8 to 10 servings