Palestinean stuffed squash (Kousha Mahshi)
My daughter came back this week from two weeks meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. She spent one day in Bethlehem and this brought back a food memory that was very memorable from my time there. I had spent six months living in Jerusalem as part of a BYU study abroad in 1982. When I first arrived, I visited a friend of mine-George-and his family. I was immediately whisked into the kitchen along with three generations of his family and I helped prepare stuffed kousha which is a simple stuffed squash. It was so simple and I remember thinking that it would be an easy thing to make at home. It took Elena’s visit to finally get me to make it. I have eaten it other times in Middle Eastern restaurants but it had always been a Lebanese version that incorporated tomatoes. That version is also delicious but the version I learned to make was a Palestinian version and is simmered in chicken stock instead of tomatoes. What was memorable from my 1982 cooking adventure, was not really the dish-although it is delicious-but it was the camaraderie in the kitchen, with each person doing their part to bring the dish together. It was the feeling of people sitting together preparing the food. The closest I have come to this feeling is cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and my daughter. I think that today we have almost forgotten and discarded the experience of working together in the kitchen with the love and friendship. This kousha is a simple dish but it lends itself to being make together with friends. The version that you see pictured in this posting was made with my two dear friends, Michele and Kristen, and my daughter. It has created with the love and care I had experienced in George’s house in Bethlehem. If you try to make this (or anything else) try to rope someone into the kitchen to work with you so that food preparation becomes more than that. Let it become a social event that will long be remembered. I have not kept up with George and I do not know if he and his family are still in Bethlehem, but I will always remember the sheer joy they brought to me when I learned to cook Kousha Mahshi.
Kousha Mahshi
Ingredients
Julie in 1982 at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
5-6 medium sized green squash (realistically any squash will work that has an edible peel such as zucchini or yellow-neck squash)
1 cup white rice, rinsed and drained
1 pound ground beef, this should be a fairly fatty mix such as a 80/20 blend
1 medium onion, finely grated
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 ½ teaspoon all spice
2 cups chicken stock
Preparation
Rinse and cut the ends off of each of the squash. Core the squash-an apple corer makes this process quite simple but this can be done with a small paring knife as well. You can reserve the pulp to be used in another dish (I save it for soup).
Combine all but the chicken stock in a small bowl. Mix together to distribute the spices. Gently push the stuffing mixture into each of the empty cavities, leaving approximately ½ inch empty at each end to allow the stuffing to expand.
Place the squash in a stock pot and cover with the broth. If the broth does not completely cover the stock, add water (or additional stock) to the pan. Place the covered pan on the stove and bring the stock to a boil. When boiling, reduce the heat to allow the stock to simmer slowly.
Cooking time will vary based upon your preference. Traditionally, the squash would be simmered for an hour and would fall apart, literally, when placed on the plate. The stuffing and squash will be quite soft within 30 minutes. I would cook between 30-60 minutes depending upon your preference of how soft you prefer to eat your vegetables.
Remove from the stock (save the stock for soup-maybe even soup made with the reserved pulp). Slice the kousa and eat.
