Zucchini in goat's yogurt

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg zucchini, small
• 1 kg yogurt (goat yogurt)
• 1 cup of rice, short grain rice (normal coffee cup)
• 150 g minced beef
• 1 tbsp peppermint, dried
• 3 garlic cloves
• Salt
• Pepper – Mixture (7spices), alternatively white pepper and cinnamon
• 1 liter of water

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

`Kousa bel Laban`, Lebanese recipe for stuffed zucchini

Wash the zucchini, cut off the blossom end and the stem without damaging the zucchini. Carefully hollow out the zucchini using a special knife (similar to an apple corer, only thinner and longer – see my profile page). Wash the rice, drain it, and mix it with the minced meat, about 1 teaspoon of the pepper mix, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Season to taste. (If it tastes slightly over-seasoned, then it’s good!) Fill the zucchini 3/4 full with the rice mixture, adding the filling only loosely; do not press it down. Carefully tap the zucchini onto a towel with the opening facing up, then add or remove more filling if necessary. Mix the goat’s yogurt with the water and pour through a fine sieve into a sufficiently large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent curdling. As soon as it’s really boiling, add the zucchini and keep stirring until it’s bubbling again. Put the lid on and simmer for about an hour, stirring two or three times. Simply stir in any yogurt flakes that settle on the zucchini; they will dissolve again. Grind the garlic cloves with a little salt and the peppermint until you get a fine paste! After an hour of cooking, add to the zucchini. Let it simmer for another 15 minutes. To test for doneness, pierce the zucchini with a fork, season the yogurt, and add more salt if desired. The original dish is not eaten hot, but rather lukewarm with flatbread.