Koosa Mahshi (Lebanese Stuffed Zucchini)

About This Recipe

Koosa mahshi is one of the most common dishes on a Lebanese family dinner table, small zucchini (koosa) hollowed with a special corer and filled with a rice and ground meat mixture before being gently simmered rather than baked. The filling is seasoned simply with baharat and a touch of tomato paste, using short-grain rice that expands as it cooks, absorbing flavor from both the meat and the surrounding tomato broth. Unlike baked stuffed vegetables, koosa mahshi is cooked entirely on the stovetop in a covered pot, the zucchini becoming meltingly tender in the simmering broth while the rice filling cooks through gently without drying out.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8small zucchini(hollowed with a corer)
• 300 gground beef or lamb
• 3/4 cupshort-grain rice(rinsed)
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tspbaharat
• 1.5 tspsalt(for filling)
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• 3 cupstomato juice or diluted crushed tomatoes
• 2 cupswater
• 2 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 tspdried mint
• 1 tspsalt(for broth)

Instructions

1. 1

   Hollow the zucchini

   Use a zucchini corer to hollow out each zucchini, keeping the walls intact but thin, reserving the scooped flesh for another use.

2. 2

   Make the filling

   Mix ground meat, rinsed rice, tomato paste, baharat, salt and pepper together.

3. 3

   Stuff the zucchini

   Loosely fill each hollowed zucchini about three-quarters full with the rice and meat mixture, leaving room for the rice to expand.

   Don't overstuff the zucchini — the rice needs room to swell as it absorbs the broth, or the zucchini will split.

4. 4

   Arrange and add broth

   Arrange the stuffed zucchini snugly in a pot, and pour in tomato juice and water until just covered.

5. 5

   Simmer

   Add garlic, dried mint and salt to the broth, bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer 35-40 minutes until the zucchini is tender and the rice is fully cooked.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve hot in shallow bowls with some of the tomato broth ladled over.

Variations

• •

  A vegetarian version fills the zucchini with rice, chickpeas and extra spices instead of meat.

• •

  Some households add a squeeze of lemon to the broth for extra tang.

• •

  Grape leaves stuffed with the same rice mixture are often cooked in the same pot for a mixed mahshi platter.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container with some of the broth; reheat gently on the stove, adding a splash of water if needed.

Frequently Asked Questions