Vegan Mahshi

Mahshi is a delicious Lebanese dish traditionally prepared with meat. I prepared a super yummy vegan version. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

Ingredients [main]:

• 8 Mexican squash, cored

• 2 baby Japanese eggplant, cored (optional)

• 1 carrot, finely diced

• 1 celery stalk, finely diced

• 1 small onion, finely diced

• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 3 cremini mushrooms, finely diced

• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced

• 1/2 bunch cilantro

• 1/3 bunch parsley

• 1 cup arborio rice, rinsed well

• 3 tomatoes, pureed (I used an immersion blender)

• 1 tomato, halved and then cut each half into 4 pieces

• 1 cup tomato sauce

• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste

• 3 cups water

• olive or avocado oil for sautéing

Spices for filling:

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon coriander

• 1/2 teaspoon cloves

Spices for sauce:

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 3 Tablespoons dried mint

Instructions:

1. Prepare the filling first by heating 1-2 Tbs of oil (in a Dutch oven) over the stovetop and add the carrot, celery, onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper. Sauté for a few minutes, until the veggies soften.

2. Remove from heat and stir in the rice, cilantro, parsley, more than half of the garlic you have prepped (about 5 cloves) and spices for filling.

3. Stuff the zucchini (and eggplant if you are using them) with the filling and set aside. Use the quartered tomatoes as a stopper: placed at the opening (not included in picture below).

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

5. Prepare sauce by heating about 1-2 Tbs of oil in the pot and sauté remaining garlic and tomato paste. If you had leftover filling, sauté along with garlic and paste. Add pureed tomatoes and 1 cup tomato sauce. Add spices for sauce and stir together. Pour in 3 cups of water and bring sauce to a boil. Turn off heat and gently add in the stuffed zucchini and (optional) eggplant. Cover and place in the oven.

6. Cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, checking on it after an hour. The zucchini is ready if tender when poked with a fork.

7. Serve with fresh scallions and radishes. Mmm... Enjoy!

With love and sparkles,

Senia