Koussa (Zucchini) Béchamel, one of my Mama’s signature dishes, is a layer of cooked ground beef between two layers of blanched zucchini, doused in a smooth and luscious creamy Béchamel sauce, and topped with melted Swiss and Gruyère cheeses. Mouthwatering delicious to say the very least! 🤩👌🏻

Zucchini Béchamel Ingredients:

🥒 5 Medium Zucchini’s 
🧀 1/2 cup grated Gruyère or Mozzarella Cheese for topping 

For the Meat Layer:
🧅 1 Chopped Onion
🥩 1 Pound Ground Beef
🧈 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
🧂 Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Béchamel Sauce:
🥄 5 tablespoons Flour
🥛 5 cups Milk
🧈 3 tablespoons Butter
🧂 Salt & Pepper to taste
🍗 Chicken Bouillon Cube
🧀 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Recipe video will be posted next! 👩🏻‍🍳

Make Koussa (Zucchini) Béchamel with me!

First cook the meat. 
🥩 Melt and heat butter or ghee. For every pound of ground meat, I used one medium chopped onion. 
🥩 Add onion to the heated ghee and sauté it until fragrant, about three minutes; then add the ground beef, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix and break up the meat lumps with a wooden spoon.
🥩 Cook meat on medium heat until it’s no longer pink and when it’s done, prepare the Koussa (Zucchini)

Next Prepare the Zucchini:
🥒 Wash and slice the koussa to about 1/2 inch thick pieces, cut at an angle.
🥒 In a large pot, add water and salt, and bring it to a boil.
🥒 Transfer the koussa slices to the boiling water to blanch it. Put the lid on for three minutes or until the koussa is just starting to get tender, then transfer the blanched koussa to a colander and set it aside.

Now Let’s Make the Béchamel Sauce
🫕 For every cup of milk, you’ll use 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour, salt and pepper to taste, and some grated Parmesan cheese (optional).
🫕 In a sauce pan melt the butter. Add the flour, stir and cook it until light golden in color and fragrant.
🫕 Add room temperature milk gradually, 1/3 of the quantity at a time, stir well after each addition to dissolve any flour lumps. 
🫕 Add bouillon cube and season with salt and pepper to taste. 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.

Assemble the Casserole:
🥣 First, add a layer of Béchamel on the bottom of the baking dish, then a layer of koussa, then a layer of meat, drizzle some Béchamel on top, then another layer of koussa, then spread the remaining Béchamel on top.
🥣 We can stop at this point and pop it in the oven or sprinkled shredded mozzarella cheese on top which I highly recommend.
🥣 Bake on 350F for about 25 minutes, until edges are bubbly and top is golden in color.

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MADE WITH LOVE!
RUBY

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😍👩🏻‍🍳❤️👌🏻