RECIPE⬇️✨
kousa, or stuffed squash, is a middle eastern dish made with a spiced beef (traditionally lamb) and rice mixture stuffed in squash, cooked in a tomato broth🍅✨
this is personally a favorite of mine! so hearty and delicious. i’ve never met anyone who didn’t like this dish🤤
if you have weight loss goals, this dish is healthy and well balanced. it’s just about portion control to fit it into your diet! get the recipe⬇️
what you’ll need:
15 squash, washed, trimmed and cored
1 cup medium grain rice, rinsed
1/2 lb ground rib eye
2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 tbsp arabic 7 spice
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 can tomato paste (+ salt and water)
1️⃣ cut off the top and bottom of the squash, and use a zucchini corer to hollow out the squash (as shown in the video). go SLOW and be careful to not puncture through the squash.
2️⃣ in a medium bowl, add your beef, washed rice, diced tomatoes, 7 spice, salt, pomegranate molasses, and vegetable oil.
3️⃣ stuff the hollow squash with this mixture making sure to leave 1/2 inch at the top as shown in the video
4️⃣ in a bowl, mix together your tomato paste, 1/2 tbsp of salt and water to make your broth.
5️⃣ place the squash in a pot and add the broth on top. add more water if necessary until ur squash is fully submerged.
6️⃣ place on the stove top on high heat and allow to cook for 45 min-1 hr. test the squash to check if the rice is done before you remove off the stove.
NOTES‼️
•for the beef, you can use ground chuck, sirloin or even lamb🥩
•once the kousa is done, you can reserve the tomato broth for a soup or even enjoy as is with garlic, lemon and salt!
•there are so many adaptations of this recipe. this is just how i learned! this version is also just so much simpler than others i’ve seen which i love (i’m all about ease in the kitchen)🤝
comment below what middle eastern recipe you want to see next⬇️💗✨