Do you like trying new foods from different cultures? This article will teach you all about making kousa – a delicious stuffed squash dish from Lebanese cuisine.
- Kousa is made by hollowing out small squash and filling them with savoury meat and rice stuffing
- It’s a classic Middle Eastern family meal, often served at gatherings
- You’ll learn two tasty variations – the traditional recipe and a keto/low-carb version
- Follow the easy steps to make kousa at home
Sound interesting? Keep reading to discover this tasty Lebanese treat!
What is Kousa?
Kousa is a Lebanese dish featuring small round squash that has been hollowed out and stuffed with a flavorful filling mixture. Some key things to know:
- The squash used is Mexican squash, which looks like pale green zucchini
- For the stuffing, common ingredients are ground beef or lamb, rice, onions, and spices
- After stuffing the squash, they are cooked in a tomato-based broth until tender
- It’s a popular family-style meal often served at big gatherings and celebrations
In Lebanon, making kousa is a real labour of love. Expert home cooks may stuff hundreds of squash at a time when cooking for large groups! Luckily, we’ll show you how to make a smaller batch.
Ingredients Needed
To make traditional kousa, you’ll need:
- Mexican squash
- Ground beef or lamb
- Short grain rice
- Onion
- Tomato sauce
- Spices like salt, pepper, and seven spice blend
For the keto version, the ingredients are:
- Mexican squash
- Ground beef
- Riced cauliflower
- Ghee (clarified butter)
- Tomato paste
- Spices like salt, pepper, and seven spice
Besides the main ingredients, you’ll also want a squash corer tool to easily hollow out the insides. Some common options are a basic apple corer, a squash-specific corer, or even a small electric coring tool.
Making the Fillings
Photo credit: freepik
The first step is preparing the flavorful filling mixtures that will get stuffed into the hollowed squash. Here’s how:
Traditional Filling:
- Cook the ground beef with onions, salt, pepper, and seven spice until browned
- Mix in uncooked rice
- Stuff the mixture into the hollowed squash cavities
Keto Filling:
- Combine the ground beef, cauliflower rice, ghee, tomato paste, and spices
- Pack the keto filling tightly into the hollowed squash
For the keto version, you’ll want to really overstuff the squash since the filling won’t expand as much during cooking.
Cooking the Stuffed Squash
Once your squash is all stuffed, it’s time to cook them until perfectly tender. You have two options:
- Simmer the stuffed squash in a pot of tomato sauce broth on the stovetop for about 1 hour.
- Cook them in a flavorful beef or chicken broth you’ve prepared separately.
Some cooks nestle the stuffed squash directly into the cooking liquid. Others cook them, resting on top. Either way, the squash will soak up tons of delicious brothy flavour as they slowly cook.
When done, the squash should be fork-tender and the filling will be piping hot and perfectly cooked through. Then just serve the kousa fresh and enjoy!
A Classic Dish Worth Trying
Preparing kousa takes some effort, but the end result is so rewarding – tender squash bursting with rich, savoury stuffing in every bite. Give this authentic Lebanese recipe a try for a delicious taste of the Middle East!
Have you ever made stuffed vegetable dishes like this before? What other global cuisine should we try making next? Leave a comment and let me know!
Photo credit: freepik
