Monday, January 13, 2014

548. Stuffed Cougettes in Tomato Sauce


Stuffed vegetables make for a popular dish in Arab and Turkish cuisines.

No specific country can call a specific dish theirs, as many other countries will have variants of the same dish.
Today, stuffed courgettes (كوسة أو شجر محشي) are mostly considered Lebanese, although predictably, Iraqis have been making it for much longer. The stuffed courgettes come mostly in two forms: in a tomato-based sauce, or in a yogurt-base sauce. Today's recipe obviously features the tomato-based sauce.
Keep in mind that recipes like this use Arab courgettes, which are smaller and lighter than Western courgettes. If you cannot find these delicate courgettes, you can cut a regular long courgette in half and treat it as two. Do not discard the core, you can be economical and make courgette fritters from them.


Ingredients:

10 Arabic courgettes
3/4 cup Egyptian shortgrain rice
250g minced lamb
1/2 cup chopped dill
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp 7-spice mix

For the tomato sauce:
1 lemon, juice
2 bouillon cubes
3 Tbsp tomato paste
3 cups hot water


Method:

Wash the courgettes very well from any grit.
Slice off the tops and core the courgettes. Let soak in a bowl of cold water.
For the filling, mix the rice, minced meat, dill, parsley, onion, salt, and spice mix.
Stuff the cored courgettes.
In a couple tablespoons of oil, sear the courgettes on the outside until golden and blistered.
Meanwhile in a pot, bring to a boil the lemon juice, bouillon cubes, tomato paste, and hot water. Set aside.
When the courgettes have finished searing on all sides, carefully place them in an oven proof dish, and pour over them the tomato broth.
Cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated 400F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until rice gets cooked through and sauce has thickened.
Serve hot.


صحة و عافية

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Assalama alaikum Maryam, another delicious looking dish, I can't wait to try. Wish you would start a Youtube channel to demonstrate some of these recipes especially coring and stuffing vegetables and kubbas. Best wishes Khadija

Maryam said...

Wa aleikum Alsalam dear Khadija!
Thank you, I hope you will enjoy it as we did.
I don't see youtube coming to MCW anytime soon, I'm sorry, but you can search these techniques and there are plenty of tutorials. If you know Manal Al Alem, she's great at this and there is a hefty amount of videos by her available.

Anonymous said...

Maryam, i'm sorry to hear that. I think it would be great. I don't know Manal but will certainly look her up. Thank you and sahteyn, love the labaniya version :) Khadija

Maryam said...

Thanks so much, Khadija. I think you're a beautiful person. Saha wa Afia to you too my dear.

Dania said...

Thankyou so much for this recipe & for the entire blog! As a recently married middle eastern woman, it’s really difficult to find authentic Arabic recipes online. My parents both live overseas so I have to really learn on my own. This page helped me a lot & I just want to share my gratitude :)

Maryam said...

You're welcome! And thanks for sharing, it makes me happy to hear.