koosa stuffed zucchini recipe

By The Shahrouk sisters

Difficulty not too difficult | Cooking time more than 1 hour Serves 10 or more

Zucchinis rarely get the spotlight they deserve, but this Lebanese dish—direct from the episode one winning table of Family Food Fight—will make you think twice about about this humble green vegetable.

INGREDIENTS

10 Lebanese zucchinis
50g pine nuts
1 cup medium or short grain rice
1 tablespoon ghee
200g coarse lamb mince
1 teaspoon dry mint leaves
425g tin tomato puree
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic

METHOD

Use an apple corer to remove cores from zucchinis. 

Place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add ghee and pine nuts and cook until pine nuts are golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.

Wash rice 2-3 times in cold water or until the water runs clear. Drain well. Place washed rice in a large bowl with mince, ½ teaspoon dried mint and cooled pine nuts. Season with sea salt and pepper and mix to combine.

Stuff filling into each zucchini until ⅔ full. Press in with your fingers.

Place tomato puree and paste into a medium sized saucepan that can fit all the zucchinis (you might need to have them in 2 layers), add enough water to fill the saucepan ⅓ full. Sprinkle in remaining dried mint and season with sea salt and pepper. Place the saucepan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Carefully lay in zucchinis, adding a little more water to cover if required. Bring back to the boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. In the last 5 minutes of cooking add lemon juice and garlic, gently mixing to combine.

Place zucchini onto a large serving platter and drizzle with sauce to serve.

Note: If the sauce is too thin, remove the stuffed zucchinis when cooked and further simmer the sauce to reduce to a preferred thicker consistency.

Image and recipe courtesy of the Shahrouk sisters for Family Food Fight