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Photo: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman
Active Time:1 hr 15 minsTotal Time:1 hr 45 minsServings:10Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:1 hr 15 minsTotal Time:1 hr 45 minsServings:10
Active Time:1 hr 15 mins
Active Time:
1 hr 15 mins
Total Time:1 hr 45 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Servings:10
Servings:
10
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
Growing up, I’d only heard of kousa mahshi from my father, who often described his mother’s stuffed zucchini with passion. I wondered if I could ever find zucchini (which I didn’t like) to be the morsels of goodness he was describing. My mother, who had a huge repertoire of intricate recipes that she would make, would give him a funny look, knowing that mahshi (which literally means “stuffed” in Arabic) wasn’t one of her specialties.
There are a variety of stuffed vegetables in Egyptian cuisine, including eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage rolls and—the most popular—stuffed grape leaves. And all of them, in all their glory, were piled up on my grandmother’s table in true Egyptian-feast fashion.
I remember that although I loved them all, the zucchini made the biggest impression on me because up until then, I thought I hated them as a vegetable. But prepared in this way, they were unexpectedly sweet, tender and complemented the filling so well.
This recipe is actually surprisingly simple, with the most labor-intensive part being coring the zucchini using a teaspoon or corer, which I came to find was not that difficult, although it does require that I slow down, turn on some music and take my time. I find immense satisfaction in making even wells in each vegetable and scooping out the insides, making sure the zucchini walls aren’t too thick or too thin, while also being careful not to break or cut into the skins in the process. As I finish coring each one, I pile them up, which ends up looking like a bit of a construction project, then fill them with the stuffing mixture and stand each filled zucchini upright in the pot.
The whole process reminds me of how fun it was to use my hands the way I used to as a child, doing arts and crafts, building things—making the recipe almost feel like play. In fact, it did wonders for my anxious mind, leaving me feeling calmer and more present. In the age of the air fryer and Uber Eats, I’ve gotten used to having a meal made in no time, pushed out of the way for the rest of life to continue.
But revisiting this recipe time and time again gives me an appreciation for the process of cooking as an act of living. The satisfaction of taking some time to work through the different steps of this recipe is the joy. The tasty finished product is the cherry on top. And in my grandmother’s generation, it also meant community, because these sorts of recipes were always done communally, with aunts, cousins, sisters or friends sitting around the table, catching up and connecting over making the meal.
I think the biggest trick to the deliciousness of this dish is the stuffing, especially the use of the holy trinity of herbs—dill, cilantro, parsley—used in Egyptian cuisine. This combination of herbs is used in other stuffed vegetable recipes like grape leaves and is the secret behind both Egyptian kofta and falafel.
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients5tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil, divided1smallyellow onion, grated8ounceslean ground beef1large tomato, chopped¾cupjasmine rice, rinsed1cupchopped fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)1cupchopped fresh dill (about 1 bunch)1cupchopped flat-leaf parsley (about 1 bunch)1teaspoonpaprika½teaspoonground cumin¼teaspoonground cardamom2teaspoonskosher salt, divided¼teaspoonground pepper1cupwater, plus more as neededJuice of 1/2 lemon10mediumzucchini (about 8 pounds)4cupsunsalted beef broth1(15 ounce) candiced tomatoes
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
5tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil, divided
1smallyellow onion, grated
8ounceslean ground beef
1large tomato, chopped
¾cupjasmine rice, rinsed
1cupchopped fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1cupchopped fresh dill (about 1 bunch)
1cupchopped flat-leaf parsley (about 1 bunch)
1teaspoonpaprika
½teaspoonground cumin
¼teaspoonground cardamom
2teaspoonskosher salt, divided
¼teaspoonground pepper
1cupwater, plus more as needed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
10mediumzucchini (about 8 pounds)
4cupsunsalted beef broth
1(15 ounce) candiced tomatoes
DirectionsHeat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly translucent but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef; cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until it’s no longer raw-looking but not browned (you want it to still be juicy and undercooked), about 3 minutes. Add fresh tomato, rice, cilantro, dill, parsley, paprika, cumin, cardamom, 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Drizzle the mixture with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and set aside.Trim the zucchini tops and cut them, if needed, to fit vertically in a large tall pot. Using a small sharp knife, cut a circle along the outer line of the seeds and scoop out the centers with a teaspoon, melon baller or the handle of a spoon. (You can do this in stages, starting shallow and then scooping deeper as you go). You’ll want to leave a thin wall (about 1/4-inch thick) and about an inch of each zucchini bottom intact.Fill each zucchini with some of the stuffing mixture (don’t pack it tightly), leaving about 1/2-inch of the top free of stuffing so the rice has room to expand.(If you have any stuffing mixture left over, you canshape it into meatballs and cook them in the pot with the stuffed zucchini untilthe rice is tender, about 20 minutes, and serve them with the zucchini. Alternatively, freeze the extra stuffing airtight for up to 3 months.)Gently place all the stuffed zucchini upright in a large pot. They can lean on each other, but don’t pack them in too tight because of the expansion of the rice. Add broth to the pot. If the zucchini are not almost submerged, add enough water until just the very tops are sticking up (this prevents too much stuffing from floating out). Drizzle the tops of the stuffed zucchini with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil.Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the zucchini are soft and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the stuffed zucchini to a platter with tongs; cover to keep warm. Reserve the cooking liquid.Combine canned tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups of the zucchini cooking liquid and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining lemon juice and serve with the zucchini.Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, July 2023
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly translucent but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef; cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until it’s no longer raw-looking but not browned (you want it to still be juicy and undercooked), about 3 minutes. Add fresh tomato, rice, cilantro, dill, parsley, paprika, cumin, cardamom, 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Drizzle the mixture with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and set aside.Trim the zucchini tops and cut them, if needed, to fit vertically in a large tall pot. Using a small sharp knife, cut a circle along the outer line of the seeds and scoop out the centers with a teaspoon, melon baller or the handle of a spoon. (You can do this in stages, starting shallow and then scooping deeper as you go). You’ll want to leave a thin wall (about 1/4-inch thick) and about an inch of each zucchini bottom intact.Fill each zucchini with some of the stuffing mixture (don’t pack it tightly), leaving about 1/2-inch of the top free of stuffing so the rice has room to expand.(If you have any stuffing mixture left over, you canshape it into meatballs and cook them in the pot with the stuffed zucchini untilthe rice is tender, about 20 minutes, and serve them with the zucchini. Alternatively, freeze the extra stuffing airtight for up to 3 months.)Gently place all the stuffed zucchini upright in a large pot. They can lean on each other, but don’t pack them in too tight because of the expansion of the rice. Add broth to the pot. If the zucchini are not almost submerged, add enough water until just the very tops are sticking up (this prevents too much stuffing from floating out). Drizzle the tops of the stuffed zucchini with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil.Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the zucchini are soft and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the stuffed zucchini to a platter with tongs; cover to keep warm. Reserve the cooking liquid.Combine canned tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups of the zucchini cooking liquid and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining lemon juice and serve with the zucchini.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly translucent but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef; cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until it’s no longer raw-looking but not browned (you want it to still be juicy and undercooked), about 3 minutes. Add fresh tomato, rice, cilantro, dill, parsley, paprika, cumin, cardamom, 1½ teaspoons salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Add water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Drizzle the mixture with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and set aside.
Trim the zucchini tops and cut them, if needed, to fit vertically in a large tall pot. Using a small sharp knife, cut a circle along the outer line of the seeds and scoop out the centers with a teaspoon, melon baller or the handle of a spoon. (You can do this in stages, starting shallow and then scooping deeper as you go). You’ll want to leave a thin wall (about 1/4-inch thick) and about an inch of each zucchini bottom intact.
Fill each zucchini with some of the stuffing mixture (don’t pack it tightly), leaving about 1/2-inch of the top free of stuffing so the rice has room to expand.(If you have any stuffing mixture left over, you canshape it into meatballs and cook them in the pot with the stuffed zucchini untilthe rice is tender, about 20 minutes, and serve them with the zucchini. Alternatively, freeze the extra stuffing airtight for up to 3 months.)
Gently place all the stuffed zucchini upright in a large pot. They can lean on each other, but don’t pack them in too tight because of the expansion of the rice. Add broth to the pot. If the zucchini are not almost submerged, add enough water until just the very tops are sticking up (this prevents too much stuffing from floating out). Drizzle the tops of the stuffed zucchini with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the zucchini are soft and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the stuffed zucchini to a platter with tongs; cover to keep warm. Reserve the cooking liquid.
Combine canned tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups of the zucchini cooking liquid and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining lemon juice and serve with the zucchini.
Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, July 2023
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)237Calories11gFat26gCarbs12gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
