🥒 Kousa mahshi (stuffed zucchini)

Name: Kousa mahshi (stuffed zucchini)
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Levant · Middle East
Ingredients: 12 small zucchini; 150 g short-grain rice, rinsed; 250 g ground beef; 4 tomatoes: 1 finely chopped, 3 grated; 1 tbsp dried mint; 1 tsp seven-spice, salt and pepper; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Origin: Levant · Middle East

368kcal

per serving · 350 g

105kcal

per 100 g

21 gProtein6 g / 100 g

14 gFat4 g / 100 g

35 gCarbs10 g / 100 g

Kousa mahshi is small zucchini cored and filled with rice, ground beef, tomato and mint, then braised in a light tomato broth until tender. The zucchini soaks up the tangy sauce while the filling stays savoury and soft. It is one of the most common family lunches across the Levant and Egypt, often cooked in the same pot as stuffed vine leaves.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Low-carb10 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground beef

Not veganbecause of: ground beef

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

zucchiniground beefricetomatomint

Recipe

4 servings90 min

Ingredients

12 small zucchini
150 g short-grain rice, rinsed
250 g ground beef
4 tomatoes: 1 finely chopped, 3 grated
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tsp seven-spice, salt and pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Hollow out the zucchini with a corer, leaving thin walls.
Mix the rice, beef, chopped tomato, half the mint, spices, salt and pepper; fill the zucchini three quarters full.
Arrange them in a pot, add the grated tomatoes, tomato paste and water just to cover.
Cover with a plate to keep them down and simmer for 45 minutes until the rice is cooked.
Fry the garlic and remaining mint briefly in oil and stir into the broth for the last 5 minutes.

How to make it lighter

Use lean ground beef and add more chopped tomato to the filling.
Serve it in its broth with a salad instead of starchy sides.
Eat the scooped-out zucchini flesh cooked into a side dish rather than throwing it away.

History

Stuffed vegetables, mahshi, are cooked across the eastern Mediterranean, and zucchini is one of the most popular. The tomato-braised version is a weekday staple in Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian homes.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →