Summer Vegetables and stuffings

Another way to enjoy the summer vegetables is to eat them stuffed. A South of France must, the petits farçis are first to come to mind. They make use of all the seasonal vegetables, tomatoes, onions, peppers, zucchini, eggplants and potatoes, and fill them with a combination of their own flesh and ground meat making for a colorful combination.
As every single country boarding the Mediterranean sea has its own version of anis based spirit, they also have their own unique recipes for stuffing: rice in the Greek and Turkish grape leaves, couscous for the Moroccan grilled tomatoes… Stuffing possibilities are endless. The first cook in my life who was an Alsatian lady by the name of Cécile had a vegetarian version of that dish which involved tomatoes, cheese and eggs. It is essentially an individual soufflé held into a vegetable mold. Central Americans love their Chili Rellenos, a dish similar to the Provence stuffed vegetables. Bell peppers are peeled and fried once stuffed instead of baked
There are many reasons to stuff vegetables, best of all to renew the taste of dreaded leftovers. They are great for a dinner party, as they are cheap, can be prepared in advance and offer a lot of different savors and colors at once. We can even have our stuffed veggies and spend almost no time in the kitchen. Almost any leftover will works for example, any baked or grilled fish with a little smoked salmon, and store bought mayo spiced up with Tabasco and chives. As a filling holder, cherry tomatoes are the perfect color to complement that sunset glass of Rosé. If you have no fish or meat, a little soaked couscous grain with finely sliced mint will fill up the cherry tomatoes nicely. Et voila, taboulé on the go.
Small stuffed vegetables (Easy, Preparation time: 40 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil and a few extra drops
4 medium tomatoes
4 small green bell peppers
4 medium onions
4 round zucchinis
4 medium potatoes
3 Italian sausages, about ½ lbs (250 g) or the same weight of leftover meat ground with 3 additional slices of bacon
6 slices of white bread, without the crust
1 cup (250 ml) milk
2 egg yolk
Breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons ground parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Material:
Food processor
Cutting board and paring knife
Grapefruit spoon
Salad bowl
Pan
Wood spoon
1 cookie sheet
1 piece of parchment paper

Soak the bread in the milk.
Preheat the oven at 360F (180C).
Peel the onion. Wash all the other vegetables. Slice off the very top of each vegetable. Discard the eggplants and potatoes tops. Cut the other tops in small pieces, keeping the onions separate from the rest. Scoop out all the insides. Discard the seeds of the tomatoes and the bell peppers and the potatoes flesh. Keep the onions, zucchini and eggplants innards separate and mince them finely. Place the tomatoes upside down on a piece of towel paper to dry.
Pour the olive oil in a pan and place on the medium range of the gas. Fry the finely minced onion until soft. Add the peppers and tomatoes tops and the zucchini and eggplants innards. Add the meats, the soaked bread (without the extra liquid) and the parsley. Cook for about 10 minutes, mixing continuously and remove from the stove. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Beat the egg yolks and add to the stuffing.
Spoon in each vegetable some of the stuffing and place them on the cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Mix the breadcrumbs with a few drops of olive oil and sprinkle on top.
Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot as a main course with a green salad aside.

Cécile tomatoes (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes)

Ingredients:
4 medium tomatoes
½ cup (125 ml) béchamel (see previous August post)
2 eggs
½ cup (125 g) shredded Gruyere cheese

Material:
Ovenproof dish
Eggbeater
Saucepan
Paper towel
Wood spoon

Preheat the oven at 360F (180C).
Cut a slice off the top of each tomato. Scoop out the seeds and place the tomatoes open side down on a paper towel to dry.
Prepare the béchamel in a saucepan. Add the egg yolks and Gruyere cheese outside of the gas range and mix well with the wood spoon.
Whip the whites until stiff and fold into the batter.
Place the tomatoes opening facing up in the ovenproof dish. Fill each tomato about halfway up with the soufflé batter.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Eat on its own with a salad.

Chili Rellenos (Easy, Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes, Cheap)

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
2 medium carrots
½ lbs (200 g) green beans
2 medium baking potatoes
1 cup (250 ml) plain tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs of thyme
3 eggs separated
½ lbs (200 g) beef
½ lbs (200 g) pork
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetal oil
1 tablespoon butter

Material:
Food processor
Frying pan
Saucepan
Strainer
Salad bowl
Eggbeater
Two spatulas
Set of tongues

Blacken the peppers until charred on all sides, on the gas. Wrap each pepper in newspaper until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin and cut longitudinally in four. Remove all the seeds
Grill the two meats until done, or used leftovers. Grind in a food processor. Reserve in the salad bowl.
Cube the potatoes. Dice the carrots. Cut the string beans finely. Pour water in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium gas. Place the potatoes, carrots and string beans in the boiling water. When the boil resumes, cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain and refresh until cold water.
Set a frying pan with a little oil on a low gas. Add the garlic peeled and sliced for 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, the thyme and laurel leaf. Simmer for another five minutes. Add the meat to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove the aromatics. Turn off the gas. Add the vegetables and mix well.
Carefully spoon the filling into the bell pepper quarters.
Beat the white until stiff. Add the yolks and beat some more.
Set a frying pan with a mixture of olive oil and butter on the medium range of the gas.
Dip the filled bell quarters in the egg mixture and fry on all side until golden.
Serve hot with a salad.