This meal was a long time coming. At the farm we grow a special variety of summer squash; it is a white zucchini called Kusa/Cusa. Spelling depends on where you look it up, we've been growing this variety for a segment of the Lebanese population in the area for at least two decades. We don't nearly sell as much of it as we did ten years ago but we still plant a few for the remaining customers who still cherish the vegetable.
For years I have been explaining this odd colored zucchini to other customers, how it can be used interchangeably with other summer squash and adds another color to your dishes. I would go on to describe the dish that it is used for by the descendents of immigrants that we started growing it for years ago. "They hollow out the zucchini and stuff it with a lamb and rice mix, and cook it in a tomato sauce." Yet this week is the first time I or anyone in my family have ever prepared the dish.
I have never been one who needs much of a recipe to cook a meal. Most often the meals I prepare are an ever evolving process in the kitchen. This meal was no different, I asked one of our customers to send me a copy of the recipe they use, he said why don't I just tell you. This is what I ended up with:
No measurements or proportions but I had somewhere to start from, and often I feel vague directions gives me a desired freedom to play in the kitchen. One time I was chatting with the grand-daughter of one of our main kusa buyers and I told her that I really wanted to try to make the dish sometime. She quickly asked if I had a corer to hollow out the zucchini, because you can't make it without the right tool. I had thought to myself that I would be able to figure something out, I've always considered myself pretty good at problem solving.
With the zucchini hollowed out with the aid of my drill and a 3/4" bit and the handle of a dinner spoon, the creation of the stuffing was next. Lamb, Rice, salt and pepper and a touch of cinnamon, I also added some of my tomato sauce for moisture in the stuffing. (I used 3/4 cup of rice to a pound of lamb, which next time I would cut back on the rice.) The tomato sauce was a few tomatoes and peppers run through the blender with a few cloves of garlic and oregano and chili powder.
I was cooking down the sauce for a while before the stuffed zucchini was ready, placed the kusa stuffed with lamb and rice in a soft boil and preceded to let them cook for probably twenty-five minutes. After making sure the meat was cooked through and the rice was ready, the dish was ready to eat.
I chose to go with a stuffed theme and also prepared cream cheese, bacon, and chive filled sweet banana peppers. It was a mighty tasty meal, those fortunate to share the meal with me, said the recipe was one I should make again. I was honored that this man agreed to share his recipe with me and the fun of this spoken recipe is there will be plenty of room to tweak and play when I try again.
