First, lightly toast 2 Tbsp pine nuts and then set aside to cool. Second, sauté ½ lb minced beef (80%) in a large wok until no longer pink, then add 1 ½ cups chopped onion (about 1 medium plus one small onion), 1 ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp cinnamon (I substituted with nutmeg, since I find cinnamon cloying in savory dishes). Saute until onion is tender, then remove from burner and let cool. Third, carefully scrub and clean 6 zucchini (preferably ones as straight as possible). Using a peeler, gently scrape the white nub off the bottom of the zucchini and cut the top so that the crown is almost entirely gone. Then cut the zucchini crosswise so that the bottom is 4 inches long (the recipe does not say this, but you can also save the top half, which will be about 3-4 inches). Starting with the cut side of each zucchini piece, carefully core the center (leaving ¼ inch thick wall in circumference), removing the seeds and creating a space for the filling; the cookbook calls for a zucchini corer, but I found that a small melon baller as well as a ½ tsp rounded tsp measure worked fine. Leave about ¼-½ inches of solid zucchini at the bottom. Do all of this carefully to keep the zucchini from cracking. Place the hollowed zucchini pieces in a dish, cover, and then microwave for 3 minutes. Fourth, pour 29 oz of canned tomato sauce (I used 28 oz) and 1 cup peeled and chopped tomato (I increased to 2 tomatoes to make up for the missing 1 oz of sauce) in a large Dutch oven, and let simmer for 8 mins. In the mean time, gently stuff each zucchini piece with the beef filling, using your finger to push the filling in. (The cookbook assumes that only 6 zucchini bottoms will be filled, but I was able to fill 6 zucchini tops as well.) If you have any filling leftover, add it to the tomato sauce mixture. Place the stuffed zucchini in the tomato sauce. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, turning the zucchini over periodically and spooning sauce overtop. Serve with rice and a Lebanese salad. Recipe from Classic Lebanese Cuisine by Chef Kamal Al-Faqih. (July 2015)
Cooking Adventures 