Zucchini Stew (Yekhnet Kousa)

Sometimes you just need a simple, clean, healthy stew to warm you up and this zucchini (courgette) stew is one you need to add to your list.

Most Lebanese stews (also known as yekhnehs) start with an onion, 2 cloves of garlic and then you add the main vegetable and sauté with some olive oil until it's half cooked.

After that you add the tomato sauce, which can be in the form of tomato concentrate + water, passata, a can, or fresh chopped tomatoes if in season.

Then you simmer down till everything is well cooked (no crunchy vegetables here!) and serve with either rice or bread.

You might also like my yekhnet batata (potato stew) or mnazelet batinjan (eggplant stew with peppers and meat).

Ingredients

You can use any type of zucchini for this stew. Here in London we mostly have these dark green ones, which keep their shape when stewed.

In the summer you can find those light green ones and you might need to simmer them for less time as they are more tender.

• Onion
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Ground meat
• Tomato sauce
• Lemon

You can also add diced potatoes to change up the texture and make it more filling.

I wouldn't really add a lot of spices to this dish as it will overwhelm the fresh flavours. The only spices I use are 7 spice and a pinch of black pepper.

Instructions

Always start with sautéing the onion, then add the two garlic cloves along with the meat.

Once you fry them off for a few minutes add the zucchini with an extra drizzle of mild olive oil.

Once you've sautéed them for another five minutes, add the tomatoes and tomato concentrate.

Bring to the boil then simmer for around half an hour on the lowest heat.

Top Tips

I like to add a drizzle of lemon and a sprinkle of salt on my plate just before eating to bring out the flavours.

I like to serve this with the classic vermicelli rice, which i always a more interesting option than plain rice.

If you re making a vegan version, just replace the meat with chopped carrots.

The stew will taste even better the next day, heat up on the hob on low heat for around ten minutes.

📖 Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Print

Zucchini Stew (Yekhnet Kousa)

Classic zucchini stew with ground beef in a tomato sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Lebanese

Keyword Comfort food, Healthy, Quick and Easy

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 6

Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

• 1 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 250 g ground beef
• 3 zucchini
• 4 tomatoes chopped
• 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
• boiling water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon 7 spice
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lemon juiced

Instructions

1. Sauté the chopped onion in mild olive oil until golden. Then add the garlic, ground beef, salt, 7 spice and black pepper. Sauté for another five minutes
2. Slice the zucchini into quarters length ways, then 2cm rounds. Add to the onion and garlic and sauté until half cooked for about ten more minutes
3. Then add either the chopped tomatoes and tomato concentrate with a cup of boiling water, OR add a can of tomatoes and a cup of boiling water

4. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer for around half an hour until the zucchini are well cooked

5. Add the lemon juice before turning off the heat. Taste a little bit and adjust the seasoning as necessary

6. Serve with vermicelli rice

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