Koussa&Fettah (Lebanese Stuffed courgettes in tomato sauce a

melville88

For One serving:

1 courgette
1 clove of garlic
A pinch of mixed spice
A pinch of chili powder
150 grams of tinned chopped tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
70 grams of turkey mince
1/2 small onion
1 tsp tahini
Pinch of dried herbs
3 tsps of lemon juice
20 grams of dry long grain rice


Cut the courgette in half and then scrape out the flesh inside carefully with a sharp knife or apple corer. Put the flesh aside in a bowl for the courgette dip.

Mix together the turkey mince, dried rice, mixed spice, chillie powder, dried herbs with a little salt and pepper. Cut the half onion into small pieces. Mix half of this diced onion into the turkey/rice mixture then stuff the courgette halfs with this mixture.

Place the halves into a saucepan (you must use a smallish one with a fitting lid). Cover with the chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock. Put in half the garlic clove and 2 tsps of lemon juice. Place the lid on the pan and cook on a medium heat for about an hour.

The stuffed courgettes are ready when the sauce has thickened and the rice has cooked. It is a good idea not to lift the lid off whilst cooking but you should check after about 40 minutes as the sauce may need a little more water.

To make the dip, (which can be eaten with the koussa or refrigerated and eaten like houmous), mix the teaspoon of tahini with a little water and beat quickly. keep adding water until it is a yoghurty consistence and lighter in colour (it should turn from the colour of peanut butter to a light beige). Add one teaspoon of lemon and half a garlic clove minced and mix together. Dry fry the courgette flesh in a non-stick frying pan. You may need to add a little bit of water if the flesh starts sticking. When it has lost its 'greenness' and looks semi-yellow/golden brown, add the tahini mix and stir for about a minute. The dip can be eaten hot or cold but I recommend consuming it within 2 days of making it as other arabic dips are normally preserved by oil.

Nutritional information: The stuffed courgette recipe is enough for one very hungry person. You may wish to divide it into two smaller portions. However, for the recipe as shown (including the dip) and prepared it is approximately 296 calories and 9 grams of fat. If you prefer, you can serve just half of the recipe with a brown pitta bread or a little rice.

Enjoy! xxx (ps. you can replace the minced turkey with beef mince or lamb mince if you wish)

NB to make this recipe vegetarian, simply omit the meat and add more rice and perhaps a few pine-nuts.