Ingredients: |
Ingredients:
Traditionally, this is made with light skinned green squash but since this only available at farm stands in the summer, you can use regular zucchini or yellow squash.
6 medium cusa (Be sure they are at room temperature so they won’t crack when coring them. This is done with a munarah (a long corer). If you don't have one, you can use an apple corer which is about half the length. In that case, you may have to cut the zucchini in half so you can reach to the bottom. Save the corings to put in the bottom of the pan.)
2 bunches of parsley that have been washed three times and chopped in a Cuisinart
1 bunch chopped scallions (onions may be substituted)
2 cups fresh chopped mint or 2 heaping Tb. dried mint
1 small can garbanzo beans - drain liquid from can and rinse
1 1/3 c. washed uncooked rice
½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup olive oil
juice of 1 or 2 lemons (Do not put in all at once. You have to keep adjusting the taste.)
1 small can tomato sauce (15 Oz.) or 1 can crushed tomatoes (Drain the tomato in a sieve and reserve the juice to add to the liquid later.)
potato "plugs"
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Directions: |
Directions:In a bowl, mix parsley, scallions, mint, garbanzo beans, rice, seasonings, the juice of one lemon, oil, and half of the tomato. Adjust seasonings. Core cusa and stuff firmly. Block the end with a piece of potato so the stuffing won’t come out. Put corings, 1 tsp. dried mint or some fresh mint in the bottom of a pan. Place the stuffed cusas upright on top of the corings and pour on the rest of the tomato sauce. Pour the tomato liquid, lemon juice, and water to barely cover the top of the cusas. Cook on medium-high heat for about 45 minutes. Extra potato may be cooked along with it.
This is the same stuffing for grape leaves. When picking grape leaves, choose only the leaves that are at the end of the vine. The others will be tough. Leave them unwashed if you are going to freeze them and wash them after they have thawed.
Roll and place the grape leaves on a wire rack.
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This recipe for Cusa Authir or Waraq Areesh Vegetarian Style Stuffed Squash or grape leaves is from