MEHSHI CUSA:

Spiced, Stuffed Vegetables Cooked in a Brothy Tomato Sauce

My love for mehshi cusa grows every year. How can you complete with some of your favorite vegetables stuffed with rice, meat, and spices and cooked in a tomato broth until they’re so soft, you don’t need a knife? You can’t really. Oh, and it’s served with cool creamy yogurt! My latest addition to the stuffed vegetables is a large onion. This takes the dish to an even higher comfort level having an onion base to the tomato broth.

INGREDEINTS

STUFFED VEGETABLE INGREDIENTS:

12 medium zucchinis
1 large white onion
3 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon salt

STUFFING INGREDIENTS:

1 cup rice
300 grams minced beef
1 large tomato, diced
1 tbs salt
1 tbs allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
15 fresh cracks black pepper
¼ cup canola oil

TOMATO SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

6 large tomatoes, grated*
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp granulated white sugar
1/2 cup water

METHOD:

Core your vegetables: Here’s a how-to video.
Stuffing: In a medium bowl add the beef, rice, diced tomatoes, salt, peppers, cinnamon, and oil and combine.
Tomato Sauce: In a medium bowl, add the grated tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and water and combine.
Stuffing the vegetables: Stuff each vegetable with the meat stuffing 90% of the way full, because rice expands when cooked.
Cooking Preparation: In a large deep stockpot, add enough tomato sauce to cover the base of the pot. Place your stuffed vegetables in a circle along the edge of the pot. I always put the onion in the middle. Add the remaining tomato sauce and stuffing (if you have extras) on top of the stuffed vegetables. If needed, add water to make so the tomato sauce almost reaches the top of the stuffed vegetables.
Cooking: Simmer the mehshi cusa on medium heat (5/10 on an electric oven) for an hour or until the rice and potatoes are cooked all the way through.
Serving: Serve hot with a spoonful of cool yogurt on the side.

* Place a large box grater into a large bowl. Cut the top of each tomato. Place the tomato cut side down on the box grater and grate. Discard the leftover skin.

Recipe, Photography, Food Styling, Prop Styling by: TALA SOUBRA

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