Kousa mahshi (Lebanese stuffed courgettes)
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Lebanese
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2
 
This delicious dairy and gluten-free dish of mince and rice-stuffed courgettes/zucchini simmered in a tomato sauce is served throughout the Middle-east.
Ingredients
  • 2 medium to large courgettes
  • ½ cup long-grain rice (uncooked)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 350g beef or lamb mince (preferably not lean)
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ¾ tsp black pepper
  • 4-5 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
  • handful of shopped flat-leaf parsley leaves (and some extra for garnish)
  • 500ml chopped tomatoes, including juice
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • half a lemon
Instructions
  1. Hollow out each courgette, removing all the seeds. Work from both ends and start with an apple corer, then use a small melon-baller to hollow the courgette out until you are left with walls of about 8mm thick all along the courgette. Discard pulp and seeds.
  2. Wash the rice in cold water in a bowl until the water runs almost clear, then drain in a sieve.
  3. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy frying pan over medium heat and sauté the onion until it turns golden brown (about 6 to 8 minutes). Add garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring all the time; then remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Transfer about 60 ml of the onion mixture to a bowl and let it cool slightly. Add the rice, meat, allspice, parsley, mint, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix well with your hands. Stuff the meat and rice mixture into the courgette shells with meat mixture but be careful not to pack them too tightly - the rice will expand during cooking and you do not want the shells to split.
  5. To the remaining onions in the frying pan, add the tomatoes with juice, chicken stock, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Put stuffed courgettes into the tomato sauce and simmer, covered, until rice is cooked through. This should take about 60 - 75 minutes depending on the size of the courgettes. Cut one courgette in half to check doneness.
  6. If sauce tomato is too watery once the courgettes are cooked, remove the courgettes and keep warm then boil sauce to thicken and reduce it for about 5 minutes. Return the courgettes to the sauce before serving and finish with a squeeze of lemon and some flat-, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, then return zucchini to sauce. Squeeze lemon over dish before serving and sprinkle with the remaining flat-leaf parsley.
Recipe by Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography at https://www.cooksister.com/2014/10/kousa-mahshi-lebanese-stuffed-courgettes.html