Kusa (Stuffed Zucchini)

     Comfort food. Two words that we all love. To me, it doesn't get much more comforting then Kusa and Waret Areesh. What is Kusa? Well, it's is a Lebanese dish that is comprised of Lebanese squash stuffed with rice, meat, and tomatoes, cooked in a tomato broth.

The typical squash used is the Lebanese White Bush Marrow variety. These should be available at any ethnic store, but if you're desperate enough, you can get them online. If you're in an absolute serious bind and can't find them anywhere, you can substitute the squash with a Grey zucchini squash of the Italian or Mexican variety.

 Kusa is very easy to make, but you will need one specific tool. It's called a manakra. It's a zucchini corer similar to a long apple corer. If you can't find it at a local Middle Eastern store, you can purchase the real deal here: Manakra.

Now, typically Kusa is cooked with Warak Areesh or rolled stuffed grape leaves. As per tradition and laziness, we ended up cooking them together. But, for the sake of ease, I separated them into two posts.

If you haven't tried stuffed zucchini before, I beg you to try this recipe. You cut into the zucchini that becomes fork tender due to the slow cooking process, you take a bite and you know everything will be alright. The zucchini becomes so tender. The rice is perfectly cooked and provides a great canvas for the rest of the flavors There's a great depth of tomato flavor and a hint of spice from the freshly ground black pepper. It's just comfort in every sense of the word. It's a warmth you just can't describe until you try it. So try it!

 

First, you want to cut off the zucchini stalks and the dried tips at the opposite ends. Be careful to not remove too much of the flesh.

Carefully hollow out the zucchini from the stalk end by pushing and turning a manakra into the center. Keep hollowing it out until you have a big cavity.  Keep doing this until they're all hollowed.

Remove any brown or black spots on the flesh with a knife. Fill a bowl with water and add about a teaspoon of salt. Wash the zucchini in the salted water and then let them drain.

 

Place basmati rice in a bowl and pour enough warm water to cover the rice. It should go about 1" above rice surface. Allow the rice to sit in the water for about 10-15 minutes.

 

 

 

After 10-15 minutes, let the rice drain in a sieve. 

 

Get started on the cutting tomatoes. Dice four to five tomatoes in a small dice and set aside. Cut four to five tomatoes into slices and set aside.

 

 

 

 

Move the drained rice to a large bowl and place the beef in the same bowl.

 

Add the diced tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and tomato paste into the bowl of meat mixture.

 

 

 

 

Mix until combined. Don't be too rough with the mixture to ensure you don't mash the tomatoes. 

 

 

Begin stuffing the zucchini with the rice filling until about ¾ full. Leave enough room for the kusa to breathe when cooking. It's important to not overstuff.

 

Continue stuffing the kusa until they're all filled. Typically, you will use any leftover filling for the stuffed grape leaves. You can of course, always more kusa as well. As you fill the kusa, place them in a pot large enough to hold all the kusa and the grape leaves (if applicable).

You want to ensure that the kusa will be the bottom layer and the warak areesh (if you're making them) and sliced tomatoes will lay on top.

 

Get a large bowl and fill it with warm water. Stir in some tomato paste, salt and black pepper.

 

Pour this mixture into the pot. It will not be enough water. Continue to pour warm water until it's nearly covered. At this point, give the water a taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

 

Cook on high, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook, uncovered for 40 minutes.

After about 80 minutes, you want to taste one for seasoning and doneness. The rice should be tender and the zucchini should be tender as well. 

It should be easy to cut through with a fork. If it's not done, continue to cook for about 10 minutes or until fully cooked.

 

Move to a warm plate and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See how I do it:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCOPf1H12S8[/embedyt]

 

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