Les Petits Champignons

So, I have been living in the South of France for the better part of a month now and what have I learned? Besides how to order an Americano (with OR without a drop of milk) nearly like a native…until they throw curve balls at me, like “milk on the side or in the coffee” where my limitations in speaking the French language begin to slip through, I have learned a lot about the cuisine of Nice; the niçoise cuisine if you will.

Cuisines of the Côte d'Azur area (the south east region of France) differ to typical French gastronomy in their excessive use of olive oil (gone through 2 bottles already!) and the heavy Mediterranean influences in the cooking; seafood and big vibrant vegetables often being the stars of the dish. Oh and the herbs, the herbs!! The provençal flavours in the niçoise dishes owe a lot to the use of specific herbs… so often used, they have their own mix “Herbs de Provence” which typically contain thyme, marjoram, savory, rosemary and oregano.

 

A speciality dish of the region, and the one I have chosen to recreate for our mushroom challenge is called “Farcis” or “Petit Farcis”, depending on the petiteness of said farcis. Petits Farcis are a classic specialty of Nice, they are hollowed out vegetables, usually tomatoes, courgettes or aubergines which are stuffed with a delicious pork meat mixed with herbs, parmesan and breadcrumbs. I see them as a type of street food, but as we’re in France, everything is classier and this street food is usually accompanied with a lovely glass (or pichet if it’s a weekend) of rosé.

 

Apologies, whilst enjoying our petit farcis we

opted out of the traditional rose and instead opted in for a glass of “Vin Chaud” another tasty niçoise treat. My lovely friend Chloe, who knows these parts like a local insisted we have to have Vin Chaud as it only comes available this time of year. I’ll let you off this time Chloe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As it is mushroom challenge, I replaced the usual vegetables used in petit farcis with, you guessed it, mushrooms!

 

First things first, learning about French cuisine does not just mean being able to make the dishes. It’s so much more than that. Every dish here starts with the morning at the market. I live about 3 minutes away from the “Marche aux Fleurs Cours Saleya”, which has been ranked by France’s National Council for the Culinary Arts as being one of France’s special markets. It. Is. Amazing. Just take a look!

 

As I fought off the urge pick up any one of the crates of mushrooms pictured below and run away, I was faced with a choice, what mushroom will I use? This was difficult for me, as I knew I had to be practical in my decision. I needed a mushroom that would be quite hollow on the inside so the stuffing could go in, but all I wanted was those gorgeous chanterelles or shitakes in my belly. I battled with myself, and eventually my tummy and my head reached a compromise. BUY THEM ALL. And I did. I bought the chanterelles and shitakes for my own personal enjoyment (currently writing this whilst eating my shitake laden ramen) and the biggest white mushrooms for stuffin’.

 

 

After the morning market, it was afternoon butcher time (quite aware there is no ring to the latter). I went to my local butchers around the corner from my house “Chez Francis” where I attempted to order 4 of their finest pork sausages in French. There were a few discrepancies during the interaction and a lot of vigorous pointing, but he did put four pork sausages into a bag for me, so I’m seeing it as a success.

 

Man Wearing Trackie

Okay, so we have the backround on the dish and the ingredients for the dish, now let’s get cooking!

Firstly, we need alongside our meat and mushrooms, lots of garlic, grated parmesan, bread crumbs (warning, it is very difficult to crumb bread by hand), basil, parsley, tomato puree, onions and copious amounts of olive oil. Add a few nice books on the region for added pleasure. Preheat your oven to 180C and you’re all set.

 

Step 1: Chop the garlic and onions. Clean all the mushrooms with a paper towel and take the stems out of each one (or get your friends to do this part mwahaha). Place the mushrooms on an oiled baking tray.

Step 2: Remove the sausage meat from the coating, you will either enjoy this or not. I enjoyed it.

Step 3: Throw the onions and garlic into a hot pan, drenched in olive oil and add all the herbs and salt and pepper. After 7 minutes, add the sausage meat making sure it’s broken up.

Step 4: After meat is browned add the tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remember to keep tasting, adding seasonings as you please. Salt, yum.

Step 5: Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and bread crumbs

Step 6: Scoop the mixture into the mushrooms, be generous, and then drizzle a little olive oil around the mushrooms and pour some of the white wine in.

Step 7: Pop them in the oven for 45 minutes and you’re laughing!

Enjoy once again with a glass of rosé (we had already opened the white wine for the drizzling so we just kept going with that..) and some bay leaves for the photo.

 

And it's as easy as that, minus the waiting for the food...that bit is hard.

Now, as we say in France, bon appetite!

Up next is our lovely NY city slicker Philippa. I’m sure she’ll make your mouths water and tummies grumble like ferocious hungry beasts for whatever she’s a cooking!