Stuffed Marrows- "Ma'hshi Koussa"

Okay.. so I really didn't want to post this.. cause my photos are SO CRAP!.. it was just too much trouble.. but stuffed marrows or stuffed zucchini was such a big thing for me that I HAD to post it!!..

Let me tell you why I wanted to make these so bad...

You see .. I work with a Lebanese girl.. now this works out good for me.. especially when she brings left overs for our lunch.. haha.. but she had told me that they had "stuffed Zucchini" for dinner the night before.. and it was such a hit which meant no left overs... and that was it... I just started to crave it.. I couldn't get it out of my head..I spent most of my day at work wasting my "working" time on trying to find the best recipe for the stuffed marrows... constantly asking her EVERY 5 minutes a question relating to how to make it...

"So whats in it? how do u take the inside out with out breaking the zucchini? do you use normal zucchini or is it a special one? how do you cook it? what pot do you use? do you use a pot or something else? what kind of rice is it? Jasmin or what?" hahaha... the questions went ONNNN.. I really shouldn't of added the questions I asked her.. Sorry.. but by the end of the day .. she was GLAD !!.. no more questions.. but I told her before she left that I will be attempting this dish and she replied with the "OMG Good hopefully you'll stop talking about it"

I still at that stage didn't find a recipe that seemed right and I remembered my Lebanese cook book I had purchased a couple of weeks before that.. but I had thought that the recipe wasn't in there.. BUT IT WAS!!! :)

I was planning to make it that night being a Friday and all.. I could stay up late knowing there is no work in the morning... but I was so tired i decided that it was best left for Saturday.. I had the house to myself.. I can go shopping for the ingredients and get thing started..!!

So that Saturday morning I headed to my Local Arabic Supermarket.. (I don't really know what to call it) and picked up the bits and pieces.. I was going to use normal zucchini but at the store they had the Lebanese zucchini.. which is apparently different...and I managed to pick up a "manakra" which is that awesome utensil to take the inside part out of the zucchini..

I felt quite proud of going in there..I knew what I wanted.. and what everything looked like with out feeling like an idiot... while I'm here.. now the recipe for this.. you didn't really need anything from the Arabic super market.. but I picked up a few things i needed to make some other dishes in the book..

Anyways I ended up making it... I did alright for my first go.. I would add a tad of garlic to the filling.. but that's just a personal preference... in the end I'm still pretty proud of myself.. and so was my workmates mum for just having a go :)
Here's the recipe... its found of pg 135 of the Abla's Lebanese Kitchen Cookbook .. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 12 Small (10-15cm long) Lebanese Zucchini (or normal Zucchini)
• 2 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste
• natural yoghurt, to serve (optional)

Filling

• 1 cup (200g) long- grain rice, washed and drained
• 250g coarsely minced lean lamb or beef
• 1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped

Step One: Wash the zucchini's thoroughly under running water. Cut off the stalks and the very tops of the zucchini's. Remove and discard the hard ends on the bottom but remember the zucchini's need to stay intact. Carefully hollow out the pulp (inside) using a corer or small sharp knife leaving a 5 mm-thick shell. Place 1 teaspoon of the salt in a bowl of water and wash the zucchini's - this will keep them firm while they cook. Drain and set aside.

Step Two: To make the filling, mix the ingredients and 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl well. Stuff each zucchini with the mixture, leaving a 2cm gap at the top. It's best to do this with your hands, shaking the zucchini and lightly pressing the mixture down into the centre as you go.


Step Three: Place the zucchini in a large saucepan and cover completely with water. Add the tomato paste and remaining salt and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 45 minutes. The Zucchini should be tender but not break apart when removed from the pan. Serve hot with yoghurt, if desired.



again.. SO SORRY for the U.G.L.Y photos!