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Kousa Mabshoura

This is as good cold, when it is served as an appetizer with bread, as it is hot as a side dish. It is the kind of thing people make with the leftover insides of hollowed-out zucchini when they stuff them.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6-8

Ingredients

2 pounds zucchini, cut into large pieces
3 1/2 cups chicken stock (page 143) (or use 2 bouillon cubes)
2 onions, chopped
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
Salt and pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Boil the zucchini in the stock for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain, mash, and chop them in a colander to get rid of the excess liquid (drink the stock—it has a lovely vegetable flavor).

    Step 2

    In a large frying pan, fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil until golden. Add the garlic, and stir until it just begins to color. Add the zucchini, mint, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring and mixing well, for about 5 minutes.

    Step 3

    Stir in the remaining oil and serve hot or cold with lemon wedges.

  2. Variation

    Step 4

    Stir in 2 cups natural or thick Greek-style strained yogurt before serving, or pass the pot round for people to help themselves.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
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