A relaxed dish that appeals for a relaxed wineThis summer dish was partly from the Loire because of the garden-grown zucchini (courgette) and also Provencal because this is all Provence and Southern aromas here, magically organized by B.'s intuitive culinary Art. Give her an odd list of ingredients which seem at first glance to be at odds with each other for a good dish, she'll make them work together just fine, and this, as easily as she handles her paint brush....
We had brought a few courgettes under the pure light of the south and one evening there were these leftovers in the fridge and no really-planned dinner in view. When you're in the wilderness and enjoy it, you space as much as possible the food-shopping trips and do with what's at hand.
making place for the meat fillingIn the cuisine of Provence, there is a line of dishes called "les petits farcis", it consists of meat-stuffed vegetables like zucchinis, tomatoes, aubergines and red/green peppers, usually small-size ones. This traditional Provencal cuisine, while not considered sophisticated culinary, is one of the most pleasant dish I got to enjoy lately, and the surrounding conditions that came with this experience didn't biaise my judgement. Here is a free interpretation of this age-old recipe, which gains a particular glow and this suavity under the sun of Provence...
short boiling to soften the zucchiniThe zucchini must be cut open in two and emptied from its seeds to make place for the meat farce. You can put the zucchini right away to cook in the stove after putting the grinded meat inside, but it may be better to first whiten (
blanchir) or boil lightly the halved zucchini a couple of minutes in water : the vegetable will be softer and will handle the short cooking time in the stove. If you don't boil it firsthand, it could be too crunchy at the end. The ideal boiling time is something ranging from a couple of minutes to 5 minutes.
This picture shows what you have to do under the hot summer of Provence in non-airconditioned houses : do all the cooking outside (especially the one producing lots of steam) or in an attached room...
Filling with the farceThere are several options for the farce, you can just go to the butcher and buy some ready grinded
meat (
viande à farce). If you choose this
easy option, make sure that the grinded meat is not too "white", that is includes too much fat. The butchers often dump lots of unwanted fat parts in this grind. If you're more imaginative you can gather several meat remains from previous meals and grind them together, it can be chicken with pork or whatver other meat you don't know what to do with. One thing is important : make sure that the
farce is not too thinly grinded, because this dish has a lot to do with structure in the mouth, and you don't need to have a bland cream as filling. You can in that purpose just cut in small pieces the meat parts yourself with a knife. The meat is one thing, but you must mix it with vegetables, also cut in small pieces, and fried lightly beforehand in a frying pan. Like the meat, take anything you have around that day : that can be onions, red or green pepper [picture right], and you can add Provence herbs like for example basil (is there something more provencal than basil ?). B. added also some bread remains in the
farce : after putting them briefly in water to soften them, she grinded this bread [picture on left] and mixed it manually with the meat and the fried vegetables. The filling is ready and can be stuffed into the zucchini...
The cooking now : As said above, the zucchini went already through a first cooking in boiling water. This time, you'll put the stuffed zucchini complete with the fillings in an electric stove, wrapped in aluminium foil. Set the heat level on 7 (electric stoves in France have a temperature scale going from 1 to 10) and the time will depend of the filling : if it was made with already-cooked meat (remains of chicken, ham etc...) you just need maybe 20-25 minutes. If the meat is raw, set the time at 40 minutes.
Pink is a good match for this sunny dishThis wine pairing was no mystery, rosé is a perfect match for this dish : there's all the aromas of the south in this food, and rosé will add another layer of sunny feel. We tried two different rosés (in bottle) made by the
coopérative vinicole profiled the previous post (
la Roquière), the AOC (Appellation Coteaux Varois en Provence) and the Vin de Pays du Var. This dish with its white meat paired better with the Vin de Pays, which was more gentle on the stuffed-zucchini aromas. The AOC rosé was more aromatic, had a higher alcohol feel (in spite of the 12,6° compared with the 12,5° of the Vin de Pays) and overwhelmed somehow the food side. So I think that any light rosé (not one which too much character and structure) would make a good job with this dish.
In addition to offer a generous slice of Provence, this great meal is an affordable treat for everybody, including for the wines, which cost respectively 4,6 Euro for the Rosé AOC la Roquière Cuvée du Laoucien 2008, and 2,5 Euro for the Rosé la Roquière Vin de Pays.
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