Family legend says that our great grandma Pauline (Grandma Sally‘s mother) invented Mechshie Potato. Being that we Syrian stuff everything with hashu, like zucchini, grape leaves, onions, etc., it wouldn’t be surprising that more than one person came up with stuffing a potato with it too. Whether or not Grandma Pauline invented this recipe, it’s definitely a special one, because it’s deep fried!
Make a big batch of this and freeze it, because you will smell like fried food after making it, and if you’re anything like me, you like to avoid smelling like a french fry as much as possible. Also it’s sooo much easier; the freezer is my best friend!
Besides the obvious delicious meat-and-rice stuffed potatoes, the inner scooping of the potatoes are the hidden treasure of this recipe. Don’t throw them away! 
Mechshe Potato
Ingredients:
- About 1 dozen Idaho potatoes
- 1 lb chopped meat
- 1/3 cup rice
- water
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- salt, to taste
- Directions:
- Mix together the ground meet and rice. Set aside.
- Peel and scoop out the potatoes with a melon baller. Start with a short side and scoop the middles out, reserving the insides in a bowl of water. You want a nice pocket in the potato, but you don’t want to break through the other end of it.
- Stuff the meat and rice mixture into the potatoes.
- Fry the potatoes until they’re a golden brown, but not too dark! We use an electric fryer for this (and pretty much nothing else).
- Drain and let cool on paper towels. At this point you can freeze the mechshe (flat on a baking sheet, and then in zip-top bags so they don’t stick together), or proceed to finish preparing them.
- When ready to cook, fill a pot with as many potatoes as you’d like with enough water to cover, and add the lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes. Serve hot.
