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Mahchi (Stuffing Zucchini)

egyptian, groundmeat, jewish, sephardic

----ZUCCHINI----
2 lb small (abt 6) zucchini (3 to 4-in l; ong)
2 tablespoon corn oil
1 clove garlic, chopped fine or put t; hrough a press
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
----STUFFING----
1 cup raw rice, well rinsed
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoon corn oil
1 large (2 c) onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, chopped fine or put t; hrough a press
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 lemon's juice
1/3 cup canned or homemade tomato sauce
----SAUCE----
2 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon corn oil

Almost every Sephardic culture prepares stuffed vegetables with some sort of seasoned stuffing. Indians cook their stuffed vegetables in a tamarind sauce. Egyptian use a sauce of tomato and lemon juice. This is enhanced during cooking process with garlic, allspice, and onion. An added bonus for our time is that mahchi are almost entirely fat - Free. 1. Trim 1/4-inch from each end of zucchini. Cut each one crosswise into halves. Scoop out pulp with an apple corer, close to out skin of each zucchini piece. Reserve 1 cup of pulp. 2. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add reserved pulp, 1 clove of garlic, allspice, and salt. Stir-fry over low heat until the pulp has browned and reduced to a mush, about 10 minutes. Set aside. 3. In a pan, place rice and 1/3 cup of water. Simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes, or just long enough for all liquid to be absorb. Set aside. 4. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil. Add onion and stir-fry over low heat until light golden brown. Cool slightly. 5. In a large bowl, mix together onions, ground beef, cooked zucchini pulp, cooked rice, remaining clove of garlic, salt, lemon juice, and tomato sauce. Stuff each zucchini half almost to top. Tap the bottom of zucchini now and then so that stuffing is firmly settle in. In a skillet or pan, snugly fit stuffed zucchini in one or two layers. 6. In a bowl, mix all sauce ingredients together. Stir well. Pour over zucchini. Bring to a boil. Cover pan and cook over low heat for 1 hour. At end of 45 minutes, turn zucchini over carefully, and cook uncovered, for 15 minutes longer. The total cooking time is 1 hour. Almost all liquid will have evaporated from sauce. Serve warm. Makes 12 to 14 pieces. VARIATIONS: TO STUFF ONIONS: Peel 4 medium onions and scoop out the center of each onion from stem end. Use same stuffing to fill the shells almost to top. The onion centers are cooked in pan with other vegetables. TO STUFF TOMATOES: Cut stem ends out of 4 ripe but firm medium tomatoes and scoop out seeds and liquid. Stuff and cook same way as other vegetables. NOTE: These three vegetables -- zucchini, onions, and tomatoes -- are the most popular vegetables for mahchi. They are usually made in large numbers for family gatherings at Passover and Rosh Hashannah. Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- Copyright 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D.Pileggi

Yield: 1 servings

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