You will need: ghee, butter, ground beef, Koussa (zucchini’s), salt, pepper, onions, milk, mozzarella cheese, flour, egg, bouillon cube, nutmeg

Instructions:

• First cook the meat. Melt and heat 3 tablespoons of ghee
• For every pound of chop meat, I used one minced medium onion
• Add minced onion to the heated ghee and mix it in
• Sauté onion until fragrant, about three minutes
• Add the ground beef to the skillet
• Add salt to taste
• Add black pepper
• Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Mix garlic, salt, pepper in the meat and break up the meat lumps with a wooden spoon
• Cook meat on medium heat until it’s no longer pink
• When the meat is done prepare the Koussa
• I used seven medium sized koussas(zuchinnis) washed very well. I do not peel the skin I just scratch it longitudinally with a serrated knife
• Slice the koussa (zucchini)
• These slices are about 1/2 inch thick and cut at an angle
• In a large pot, add water and some salt and bring it to a boil
• Transfer the koussa slices to the boiling water to blanch it. We do not want to boil it until it softens, just blanching it for a couple of minutes
• Put the cover on for three minutes or until the koussa is just starting to get tender
• Test it with a fork
• Transfer the blanched koussa to a bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water. This will stop the cooking process and will maintain its vibrant green color
• Once cooled, transfer the koussa slices to colander to drain all the excess water and set it aside
• Now let’s make the Béchamel
• For every cup of milk, you’ll use 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour, salt and pepper to taste, a pinch of nutmeg, and I like to add an egg to give the sauce a smooth silky texture
• For the Béchamel you will be using 5 cups of milk, one egg, 5 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of butter
• In a sauce pan melt the butter
• Add flour to the hot butter
• Stir and cook flour until golden in color and fragrant
• Add the room temperature milk gradually, 1/3 of the quantity at a time
• Stir well after each addition to dissolve the flour lumps
• Now add the second batch of milk and mix
• Add all the remaining milk and continue to mix, season with salt and pepper to taste
• Add a pinch of nutmeg to the mix
• Add a bouillon cube
• Beat the egg and add it to the sauce, while stirring
• Make sure to stir constantly
• When the sauce starts to thicken, add 1/2 grated cup of Parmesan cheese
• Keep stirring until the cheese is well blended in the sauce, you can use a whisk instead of a spoon
• Béchamel spoon test: dip your spoon into the batch mail then draw a line through the back of the coded wooden spoon. If the sauce wipes clean leaving an open space then the Béchamel ready
• Time to assemble the casserole!
• First adult later of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish
• Add a layer of koussa
• Then a layer of meat
• Then another layer of koussa
• The last layer is the Béchamel
• We can stop at this point and pop it in the oven or sprinkled shredded mozzarella cheese on top which I highly recommend
• If you put the cheese on top, then cover the dish with foil and bake on 350°F for 35 minutes, then remove the cover and broil until the cheese is bubbly and the top is golden brown, if you do not put the cheese on top then there’s no need to cover it
• Enjoy!

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