Stuffed marrows reek of wartime privation; giant, woolly things made to stand in for everything from meat to bananas, thanks to their overwhelming lack of any discernible flavour. Stuffed courgettes, with their thinner skins and creamy flesh, are a far more attractive prospect, however, and popular throughout southern Europe and the Middle East. The classic Provençal version, stuffed with sunshine itself* is one of my favourites: a simple accompaniment to grilled fish or meat, they make a very satisfying meal in their own right, and the recipe is easily adapted to other Mediterranean veg such as peppers, aubergines – or even our very own marrow, should you be a fan.
(*not really – that would burn your tongue)
The courgettes
Many recipes call specifically for the round variety, which can be hard to track down in the UK. They’re an easier shape for stuffing, but if you’ve got a glut of long courgettes, they’ll work just as well – after all, if they’re good enough for Michel Roux Jr, who waxes lyrical about his mother-in-law’s extra-large courgettes (“gorged with sun, they really taste like no other”), then they’ll probably do for the rest of us.
Fortunately, the middle doesn’t go to waste: every recipe I try incorporates it into the stuffing. You can leave a lid on round courgettes, if you like – they look rather sweet in Bruno Loubet’s recipe from his book Mange Tout – but it will prevent what’s inside from crisping up in the oven, so I prefer to use them in the stuffing as well.
Prep work
Having scooped out the middle, some recipes, including Roux’s and Richard Olney’s, then move immediately on to the stuffing process, but many choose to pre-cook them – Loubet shallow fries them until golden, Jacques Médecin, the notorious former mayor of Nice and author of the surprisingly palatable Cuisine Niçoise, blanches them in boiling water, as does long-term Provence resident Patricia Wells, while celebrated cook Lulu Peyraud of Domaine Tempier near Marseilles chooses to deep-fry hers in olive oil instead. Olney, who collaborated with Peyraud on a book of her recipes, Lulu’s Provençal Table, writes: “I asked her if that was not unusual. She answered: ‘That’s the way my mother always did it, so that’s the way I do it.’”
While anything fried in olive oil is inevitably delicious, the process does make the courgettes rather soft and greasy, while those put in the oven raw take so long to cook that the stuffing dries out. Best, I think, to parboil them: it’s easier than shallow-frying them, although there’s no need to do so for as long as Médecin recommends: Wells’ five minutes proves quite sufficient.
The stuffing
Peyraud is also a controversialist when it comes to filling her courgettes: “I know that most people add chopped meats to the stuffing, but I don’t think meat makes any sense in stuffed vegetables.” I’m inclined to agree: Roux’s minced pork and sausagemeat mixture is very popular with testers, but doesn’t deliver the sunny southern flavours I’m after.
That said, Wells’ courgettes, stuffed with a mixture of fresh goat’s cheese and sauteed courgette flesh, seem to lack something – a stuffing needs carbohydrate in some form to be truly satisfying, I think. There are many options; breadcrumbs are popular, either soaked in milk or water, and Loubet uses couscous, but our favourite is Médecin’s rice, which keeps its shape better in the oven, giving the finished dish a more interesting, and less stodgy, texture. Undercooking the rice itself will help with this – Médecin’s is rather soft after 20 minutes’ hard boiling and then 45 minutes in the oven – and doing so with other ingredients, including stock, will give it a flavour boost, as well as saving on the washing-up.
I also don’t think the filling needs the eggs that he, Peyraud and Roux put in; it makes the mix too wet. However, like Olney, I will be adding diced tomatoes, which will help to lubricate proceedings.
The ubiquitous onion is a must, as is a generous helping of garlic, though for a less Mediterranean vibe, Roux’s carrots and leeks are also rather nice. Whatever you use, make sure you fry them first to reduce the water content, or you’ll end up with soggy rice.
A good handful of salty cheese such as parmesan, pecorino or a hard goat’s variety will add enough richness to render Médecin’s petit salé cured pork unnecessary, although if you happen to have some to hand, it is a pleasant addition, as, I suspect, would be anchovies.
Herbs and spices
Be liberal with the herbs here; both courgettes and rice can take it. Médecin uses basil, which I don’t think really stands up to prolonged baking; Peyraud and Olney go for parsley; but my favourite is Roux’s mint, which supplies a lovely fresh flavour. For a typically French touch, you might also add a pinch of curry powder, as in Wells’ recipe – it’s a, perhaps surprisingly, popular ingredient across the Channel.
The baking
Pre-cooking the courgettes allows a briefer, hotter bake, which will give the vegetables a better flavour, as well as crisping the breadcrumbs we all so enjoy in Médecin and Peyraud’s recipes. Make sure the courgettes are tender before taking them out of the oven; some of the recipes I try drastically underestimate the cooking time in a home oven.
If you use meat, deglazing the roasting tin with white wine and stock, as Roux suggests, to make a sauce, is a nice idea, but there’s not much point with a vegetable and rice mixture. A dollop of aïoli, however, would make a very apt accompaniment.
Perfect Provençal stuffed courgettes
Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main
4 medium round courgettes or 2 large long ones
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 medium, ripe tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
80g long-grain rice
150ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
1 large bunch fresh mint
50g finely grated parmesan
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
Basil, to garnish
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Cut the tops off the round courgettes, if using, and scoop out the flesh with a grapefruit spoon or melon baller, taking care to leave sturdy walls around the outside; if you’ve got long courgettes, cut them in half lengthways and scoop out the flesh in the same way. In either case, roughly chop the flesh, along with the lids of the round kind.
Bring a large pan of salted water to a simmer, add the courgettes and blanch for five minutes. In the meantime, prepare a sink full of iced water and, once the courgettes are done, scoop them out of the pan and into the sink to cool down (this will help keep them nice and green).
Heat the oil in a wide pan over a medium-low heat, add the onion, and cook until soft and golden. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out and discard the watery seeds, then finely chop the flesh.
Add to the pan with the courgette flesh and garlic, cook until soft, then stir in the rice, add the stock, bring to a simmer and cook for about 12 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Meanwhile, pick and roughly chop the mint leaves.
Stir the parmesan and mint into the stuffing mix and season to taste. Put the hollowed-out courgettes on a greased baking sheet and divide the filling between them, packing it in well, then cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Toss the breadcrumbs in a splash of olive oil, season, sprinkle on top of the courgettes, and bake for a further 15 minutes. Tear a few basil leaves over the top before serving.
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