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Aunt Lily's Meatless Koosa

Rice-stuffed zucchini with hommos and fresh tomato — a lighter Lebanese classic

Section
Syrian-Lebanese
Yield
~15 koosa

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 cup rice
  • Fresh parsley, chopped
  • Onion, diced
  • Fresh tomatoes, diced and pulped
  • Hommos (chickpeas), shelled and split
  • Mazola oil
  • Salt and pepper

Sauce

  • Tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Fresh mint
  • Lemon
Note: Quantities are flexible — the original card is a handwritten guide. 1 cup of rice fills about 15 koosa.

Original Recipe Card

Aunt Lily's Meatless Koosa handwritten recipe card
Handwritten recipe card — Aunt Lily

Directions

  1. Core the zucchini, leaving a thin shell. Reserve any pulp for the sauce if desired.
  2. Mix rice, parsley, diced onion, fresh tomatoes, hommos, Mazola oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl to make the filling.
  3. Stuff each koosa loosely — the rice will expand as it cooks.
  4. Make the tomato sauce the same way as regular koosa: simmer tomatoes with garlic, fresh mint, and lemon until fragrant.
  5. Arrange the stuffed koosa in a pot and pour sauce over to nearly cover.
  6. Cook on low heat, covered, until the rice is fully cooked and the koosa are tender — about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Tip: Stuff loosely — the rice swells and a tightly packed koosa can burst. The sauce with mint and lemon is what makes this distinctly Lebanese.