My favorite squash is starting to come in my home garden and I also see it at the farmer’s market. It’s called Kousa or Kusa and it’s a Lebanese version of the zuchinni. It’s about the same shape, but it’s a very light green in color. And I can’t get enough of it because of this recipe I am going to share with you. It was given to me by some close friends of our family that are of Lebenese descent.
We even just call the meal “Kousa”. And there is a hard version to make and an easy version. And of course I pick the easy version unless I want to turn some guests on to it. And sorry, you won’t get exact measurements for this recipe. It’s a family recipe that’s been handed down by watching people cook in the kitchen. I can’t think of a better recipe for success than that.
Ingredients:
1lb Ground meat, preferably lamb (Riverslea lamb is very good)
2-3 medium Kousas, seeds removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
fresh tomatoes chopped or 2 cans of chunky tomatoes
a handful of freshly chopped mint or dried mint to taste
2-3 small handfuls of rice
About 1-2 cups of water, however you might like the consistency, more stew like or soup like.
Boullion cube if you like.
Saute the meat, toss in the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the kousa is soft, about 45 min. The liquid ingredients should just cover the meat and kousa.
The more difficult version involves coring out the kousa and stuffing them with the tomato/meat/rice mixture and then cooking them in a tomato sauce. It is soo good.
And waste not, the Lebanese take the Kousa insides/seeds and saute it up with onions and eggs for a delicious breakfast. Also, the insides and the kousa can be blanched and frozen, so you can eat this yummy warm your insides meal in the winter time as well.
If you are not into trying to cook as much, try out Martha’s restaurant in Hampton Falls. When Kousa is in season, you can have the meal made for you here. Click the link for a great review.