Koussa Mahshi (Stuffed Zucchini in Tomato Sauce)

Method

1. 1

   Core the zucchini with a vegetable corer or a thin knife, hollowing each one into a tube and leaving the base intact; reserve the scooped flesh for another use.

   💡 Work slowly near the tip — the wall needs to stay thin but unbroken or the filling leaks out during cooking.

2. 2

   Mix the raw rice with the ground beef, grated onion, half the garlic, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper.

3. 3

   Loosely pack the meat-rice mixture into each zucchini, leaving a thumb's width of space at the open end for the rice to expand.

4. 4

   Warm the olive oil in a wide pot, add the remaining garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in the canned tomato, tomato paste, dried mint and 400ml water.

5. 5

   Nestle the stuffed zucchini into the tomato sauce, cover, and simmer gently until the zucchini is tender and the filling is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

   💡 Keep it at a gentle simmer — a hard boil can split the zucchini before the rice inside finishes cooking.

6. 6

   Check one zucchini by piercing near the base with a knife; if the rice still feels firm, simmer 5 to 10 minutes longer.

7. 7

   Serve the zucchini in shallow bowls with plenty of the tomato sauce spooned over.