Koussa Ablama
Description
Simmering the minced meat stuffed zucchini in tomatoes and serving it with rice on the side is a guranteed way to a soul warming comfort dish.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg/ 3lb 4 oz baby zucchini
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 8 garlic cloves crushed
- A pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon dried mint
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil, or ghee to fry the zucchini
For the Filling:
- 1 kg/ 2 lb 4 oz minced meat beef or lamb
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon of freshly grated white pepper
- Salt to taste
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 3 tablespoons canola oil or any neutral oil
Instructions
- Begin by selecting the right type of zucchini. Try to put your hands on small-medium Lebanese zucchini no longer than 7 inches/17 cm, and sometimes called Mexican grey squash, their pale green skin is smooth and shiny, are ideal to make stuffed zucchini aka kousa; they taste great and hold their shape without getting soggy while cooking.
- You need to hollow out the zucchini with a vegetable corer (mankara), a utensil used in the Middle East to core up the pulps of some vegetables like zucchini and eggplants. Wash, scrub and dry the zucchini, cut off the stem tips and gently hollow out the center with the vegetable corer.
- Try to hollow just like you are carving a pumpkin, hollow out the center leaving 1/3 inch/ ¾ cm, around the interior wall and maybe more if you mange doing that without poking the zucchini. It is simple, but still it is a skill that needs a bit of practice to master it.
- To cook the minced meat: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the pine nuts and toast, stirring occasionally or tossing the skillet, until they’re golden-brown and smell quite nutty. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the minced meat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. You want to break it up as much as possible or you will end up with lumps of meat that have fused together as they cook. Season with salt and the mentioned spices; Cook the mince, stirring and breaking up any large chunks for about 6-8 minutes, or until it is fully browned. Remove from heat, take a bite to make sure you’ve seasoned to your taste preference. Add the toaste pine nuts, and leave to completely cool down. Now your stufffing is ready.
- Stuff the zucchini: Fill each zucchini with the minced meat stuffing by hand until you reach the top, fully pack it until you reach the top, pushing it in so there are not air pockets.
- Fry the zucchini: Heat the sunflower oil or ghee in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the stuffed zucchini in single layer and cook until golden-browned on the bottom, flipping 2 or 3 times, until lightly browned on all sides. To remove the excess oil and ensure the zucchini turns out nice and crisp, let them drain on a paper towel after frying.
- Bake the zucchini in a garlicky tomato sauce: In a single layer, arrange the stuffed zucchini in a baking dish. In a bowl, whisk the water, tomato paste, crushed garlic and salt until well combined, and pour gently over the stuffed zucchini, sprinkle the dried mint and top and bake in a preheated oven to 180°C/350 °F, about 45 minutes, until the zucchini are thoroughly cooked.
- Serve kousa ablama with rice and vermicelli, check the link above.
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