Mellas Family Lamb Stuffed Zucchini Koosa Food

MELLAS FAMILY LAMB STUFFED ZUCCHINI (KOOSA)

Steps:

• Cut each zucchini in half and use a thin, sharp knife to hollow out each section, removing the seeds and leaving a round 1/2 inch shell.
• Combine tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, 3/4 cup water, and cinnamon in a large, oven-safe Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook until thick, about 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Stir in onion; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Combine cooked onion, lamb, rice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup water, dried mint, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Lightly stuff lamb mixture into hollowed out zucchini sections. Place stuffed zucchini in simmering tomato sauce.
• Cover pot and place in preheated oven. Cook until the rice is soft, about 1 hour. If sauce is very thin, simmer on the stove top until desired consistency. To serve, slice into 1 inch rounds and top with tomato sauce.

KUSA MIHSHI - STUFFED LEBANESE SQUASH / CUCUZZA / KOOSA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Hollow out each zucchini using a zucchini / apple corer or small, flexible paring knife, leaving 1/8-inch-thick walls.
• Combine lamb, rice, 1 1/4 teaspoons marjoram, 3/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon mint, 1/8 teaspoon allspice, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl. Loosely stuff each zucchini with the lamb mixture. Place the stuffed zucchini in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
• Combine tomato sauce with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 3/4 teaspoon mint and 1/8 teaspoon allspice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then pour over the zucchini. Cover the pan with foil.
• Bake, turning the zucchini halfway through cooking, until the zucchini and rice are tender and the filling reaches 165ºF on an instant-read thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes. Serve the zucchini with the sauce.

LEBANESE KOOSA (STUFFED YELLOW SQUASH)

Steps:

• Cut stems from squash and scoop out seeds. Because of the small size of the squash, you may twirl a knife in the flesh to scrape the seeds. The most effective method is to take a flat handle silver spoon and use the handle end to scrape out the seeds. You may rinse out the inside with water.
• Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat.
• Slice onion and add to hot olive oil.
• Let fry for about 3-5 minutes while you make the stuffing.
• In a large bowl, combine lamb, rice, and spices. The best method is to get in it with your hands and just smoosh and mix without any sort of utensils.
• Add cans of tomato sauce and diced tomato to the onions.
• Stuff squash with mixture. Leave about a half inch to a quarter inch of room at the end as the rice will expand. Also, do not pack too tightly as the expanding rice will break the squash.
• Add the stuffed squashes to the pan.
• Chop the garlic cloves into fine pieces and sprinkle between the squash in the pan.
• Add water to just cover the squash and let simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes.
• Squeeze a few drops fresh lemon juice over squash and sprinkle a pinch of mint.
• Allow to cook another 10 minutes or so.
• **Note** I have made this several more times and revised only the cooking time slightly. I found it somewhat easier to cut the squashes in half from the start. Additionally, I always test the filling to make sure the rice is fully cooked.

MELLAS FAMILY LAMB STUFFED ZUCCHINI (KOOSA)

Steps:

• Cut each zucchini in half and use a thin, sharp knife to hollow out each section, removing the seeds and leaving a round 1/2 inch shell.
• Combine tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, 3/4 cup water, and cinnamon in a large, oven-safe Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook until thick, about 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Stir in onion; cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Combine cooked onion, lamb, rice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup water, dried mint, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. Lightly stuff lamb mixture into hollowed out zucchini sections. Place stuffed zucchini in simmering tomato sauce.
• Cover pot and place in preheated oven. Cook until the rice is soft, about 1 hour. If sauce is very thin, simmer on the stove top until desired consistency. To serve, slice into 1 inch rounds and top with tomato sauce.