Syrian beef Mashi (stuffed zucchini)

This recipe is a new take another childhood favorite - Mahshi, zucchini stuffed with minced beef and cooked in a tomato stew or yogurt sauce. The first time I had this was my best friend's house in Sharjah - her mom always made us the most delicious food with so much love. Here is my hand at making the Syrian version of beef mahshi.

Serving size: 4 servings

Ingredients

Stuffed zucchini

• 4-5 green zucchinis (cooking times may vary if using pale green Lebanese zucchini, which is traditionally used)

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 tbsp butter

• 250g minced beef

• 3 1/2 tsp Lebanese seven spice (recipe for spice blend is below)

• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or coriander

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Olive oil for roasting

Yogurt sauce

• 1 cup natural yogurt

• 1 cup vegetable stock

• 1 egg

Directions

For the stuffed zucchini:

1. Cut the zucchini in half along the width and use a corer to take out the middle; be careful not to let the zucchini break and try to take as much out as possible. You can save the inside to sauté with some salt, pepper, garlic, and dried mint (it's a good side!)

2. Combine the onion, minced beef, Lebanese seven spice, parsley/coriander in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the butter over medium heat and add beef mixture, breaking it up as it cooks. Fry the beef until browned and cooked through, then set aside to cool.

4. Preheat oven to 190C.

5. Once cooled, stuff the zucchini with the beef mixture, making sure its tightly packed. Use your finger to push the mince down as you stuff it in.

6. Brush the stuffed zucchini with olive oil and place on a baking tray with tin foil. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the zucchini has softened and the skin has wrinkled. Flip half way through at around ~20 minutes of cooking time.

For the yogurt sauce:

1. Blend the yogurt, stock, and egg together.

2. Transfer to a pan and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until it almost boils and begins to thicken; avoid cooking it on anything higher than low heat as the yogurt can curdle.

3. Place the stuffed zucchini in the yogurt sauce and allow to simmer for 10 minutes uncovered.

For the Lebanese seven spice blend:

• 1 tbsp allspice

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 1 ½ tsp black pepper

• 1 ½ tsp cumin

• 1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Adapted from: Syria, Recipes from Home; Itab Azzam & Dina Mousawi