Mahshi (Idlibi Stuffed Vegetables)

Hollowed vegetables — zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes — stuffed with fatty lamb and rice, then cooked in the lamb's own rendered fat with no added oil. Faten's version from Idlib uses the fat of the lamb itself to baste the stuffing as it cooks, producing a richness that no recipe using lean meat can replicate.

Ingredients

• 6 medium small zucchini (kousa)
• 4 medium bell peppers (any color)
• 4 medium-firm tomatoes
• 500 g (shoulder or neck — ask butcher for high-fat grind) fatty ground lamb
• 200 g short-grain white rice (Egyptian or Calrose)
• 1 medium, finely grated yellow onion
• 1.5 tsp seven-spice blend (baharat)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp total salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 500 ml water or lamb broth

Method

1. Rinse the rice and soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Drain well.
2. Make the stuffing: combine the drained rice, raw ground lamb, grated onion, seven-spice, cinnamon, 1.5 tsp salt, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly by hand — the fat from the lamb will bind the mixture. Set aside.
3. Hollow the zucchini: cut off the stem end and use a corer or narrow spoon to hollow each one, leaving a 5mm shell. Keep the walls even. Save the cores for soup.
4. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove seeds and membranes completely. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp with a small spoon. Reserve the tomato pulp.
5. Fill each vegetable no more than 3/4 full — the rice will expand as it cooks and burst the vegetable if overfilled. Do not pack tightly; leave the stuffing loose.
6. In a wide, heavy pot, stand the stuffed vegetables upright packed closely together so they support each other. Lay any extras on their sides on top.
7. Dissolve the tomato paste in the water (or broth). Add the reserved tomato pulp. Season with the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Pour around (not over) the vegetables until the liquid reaches halfway up the sides.
8. Set the pot over medium-high heat uncovered until it begins to bubble. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and cook for 60–75 minutes. Check after 45 minutes — if the liquid has evaporated, add a splash of hot water.
9. The dish is done when a knife pierces the zucchini walls without resistance and the rice inside is fully cooked. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

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