In church final Sunday, somebody gave me a strange-looking squash. At first, I believed it was a zucchini, however it was the fattest, roundest zucchini I’d ever seen.
It turned out to be a kusa (additionally spelled kousa). Like all squash, it originated within the Western Hemisphere. Like tomatoes in Italy or potatoes in Eire, the kusa turned widespread in Lebanon, and is usually referred to as Lebanese squash.
Kusa full of rice and meat seasoned with garlic, mint, salt and pepper, then boiled in a tomato broth, is called kusa mihshi (typically spelled kusa mahshi). It’s conventional Lebanese consolation meals.
Kusa is an Arabic phrase for zucchini. This summer time squash is an in depth relative of zucchini, however shorter and rounder in form. Like zucchini, it may be sliced and grilled with olive oil and lemon or added to stir-fries, casseroles and soups.
The surface of a kusa is striped like a zucchini. The within flesh is creamy yellow and tender sufficient to eat uncooked in all sorts of salads. It has a light sweetness, however shouldn’t be as candy as an acorn or butternut squash.
Baked Stuffed Kusa
(Supplied photograph — Yvonna Quick)
Like zucchini, the kusa is a low-calorie nutritious deal with. Tender and delicate, it’s good as a primary stable meals for infants — as are all squashes.
As a result of it’s 90% water, a cup has simply 20 energy, 2 grams of carbohydrate, 1 gram of protein and no fats. It’s excessive in fiber and comprises nutritional vitamins C, A, folate, and small quantities of the minerals calcium and iron.
Kusa may be cooked, stir-fried, roasted or eaten uncooked in salads. Listed here are a pair recipes to get you began.
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Baked Stuffed Kusa
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Components:
2 medium kusa squash
1/2 lb. floor beef or lamb
1 onion
4 ounces portobello mushrooms
1 small inexperienced pepper
1 massive clove garlic
1 cup cooked barley, rice, or millet
1 Tablespoon tamari sauce
Instructions:
Lower off the underside finish of the kusa. With a corer or a spoon, take away the within. Discard any seeds; the remainder of the squash may be saved for utilizing uncooked in a salad, if you want.
Preheat the oven to 375 levels F and oil a baking dish massive sufficient to carry the squash when you make the filling.
In a skillet, brown the meat on low to render the fats. Peel and cube the onion; add. Slice the mushrooms and add. Core the pepper, chop and add. Peel and mince the garlic; add.
Stir in cooked grain and tamari. Style to regulate seasonings. Stuff combination into squash.
Bake 45 minutes to at least one hour, till squash is tender when pierced with a fork.
Take away from oven and let cool barely. Slice.
Serve slices of stuffed squash as is or topped with a tomato sauce or a cheese or bechamel sauce, accompanied by a salad of contemporary greens.
Serves 2 to 4.
Choices: For a vegan model, substitute the meat with cooked quinoa and lentils or beans.
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Kusa, Kale and Tomato Salad
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Components:
For the dressing:
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ready mustard
1 clove garlic, grated or crushed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
For the salad:
About 2 cups diced or shredded uncooked kusa
1 or 2 cups child kale
1 candy onion or 1 bunch scallions
1 candy bell pepper, yellow or pink
1 tomato, yellow or pink
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions:
To make the dressing, add olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, mustard and lemon juice to the underside of your salad bowl. Combine with a fork or whisk to mix.
Chop the kusa and add to the dressing within the bowl. Take away the kale from its powerful stems and chop. Stir into the dressing to coat.
Take away any wilted ends from scallions and chop off the ends. Slice and stir in.
Take away seeds from the pepper; chop and stir in. Cube tomato and crumble feta, and stir in.
Serves 2 to three (about 3 1-cup servings)
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Writer of the award-winning cookbook “Backyard Connoisseur: Contemporary & Fabulous Meals out of your Backyard, CSA or Farmers’ Market,” Yvona Quick lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: cooking and writing. She may be discovered at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite@yahoo.com or on Fb at Phrases Are My World.
