Kousa Mahshi

Kousa mahshi is a Lebanese dish of hollowed courgettes filled with rice and minced beef, then simmered in a tomato sauce. Mahshi is the Arabic word for stuffed, and kousa is the courgette, so the name describes the vegetable and its filling. The same method is used for vine leaves and peppers. The dish is also cooked in Syria and Egypt.

What it really is

Each courgette is cored so that only a thin shell remains. The flesh is removed, and the shell is filled with rice and minced beef seasoned with mint. The stuffed courgettes are packed close together in a pot, covered with a tomato sauce made with tomato paste, and simmered slowly until the rice is cooked and the courgette is soft. The sauce cooks down and flavours both the vegetable and the rice. Because the beef and rice make it substantial, it is usually served as a main course rather than a side.

How it's served

• Hot or warm, with the sauce from the pot spooned over the courgettes.
• Several pieces to a plate, with the tomato sauce poured over and spooned onto the rice.
• Often with plain yogurt on the side, which adds milk to the meal.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the vegetable, the filling and the meat, for example "stuffed courgettes with rice and minced beef".
• State the number of courgettes per portion, since guests compare portion sizes.
• The classic recipe has no declarable allergen, but flag any yogurt, bread or pastry you serve with it, since these add milk or wheat.
• Name it as a separate item if you make a vegetarian version without the beef, because the filling changes.
• Note that the sauce is tomato-based, so guests avoiding tomato know to ask.