Looking for squash recipes.

[ex_citrinitas659]

Apparently my boss has an ongoing giant yellow summer squash explosion in her garden, and there's only so much squash one person can eat, so she's given some to me. The problem is that I don't know any squash recipes.

Anybody have any suggestions on what to do with them? I'm a little lost and...I admit it...intimidated by these giant yellow things. As for other ingredients, if I don't have them I'm willing to get them so that won't be a problem. I just suspect I'll be getting more squash and I need ideas.

EDIT: I started with the first suggestions on the list tonight and I'll be working my way down. Thanks! Dinner was tasty and I've got a ton of great ideas on how to cook squash thanks to you guys. Knowing me, if I was left to my own devices I would've figured out one recipe and not have worked outside of my squash comfort zone.

Comments

[florahart]

Slice. Salt. Layer on paper towels until moisture has drawn out a bunch (you have no idea how much water is in squash).

Mix some flour with a little salt and pepper. A batch at a time, dredge the squash slices in this mix (so they're just sort of coated but not thickly), and fry in butter.

This is not exactly the healthiest thing in the world, course, but I would eat it all the time if I could. It is a recipe of my childhood.

Other than that: use in omelettes, in sauces anywhere you might use zucchini (spaghetti sauce, for instance), stir-fry with asparagus and garlic, ummmm. I love yellow squash, and use it in lots of things.

If they're great big, you'll likely want to take out the seedy middle part, but if they're ordinary size, like, I dunno, a couple inches in diameter, I usually keep it for frying, remove it for sauce things.

Any help there?

[ex_citrinitas659]

Tons of help, thanks! I'm not much of a cook to begin with, and they're giant...one's larger than my forearm...so it was a bit, "I don't want to waste them, but what am I supposed to do with them?"

[newredshoes]

There's a wonderful savory pie you can make with them! It's for zucchini, but I prefer it with summer squash.

[ex_citrinitas659]

Bookmarked! Thanks! I'll try it soon.

[rivenwanderer]

My house has had a lot of them in our farm share. So far we haven't done anything spectacularly creative with them, just sliced them up and cooked them with other things--we had them in a pilaf last week (sautee the squash along with a bunch of onions and some carrots, then add rice and cook until the rice is golden, then add broth and cook on low--this is a recipe from Mark Bittman's "how to cook everything vegetarian"). Last night my partner made some kind of tomato sauce and squash thing that we ate over rice. I've also sauteed them with onions and other veggies and then mixed them into a quiche.

(I cook once a week for my house, and am slowly building up a bunch of basic recipes that can be adapted for whatever's in the farm share that week. So I don't have specific recipes, but I *can* say that many dishes can easily have summer squash added to them instead of/along with other vegetables.)

[ex_citrinitas659]

It's reassuring to know that they are that adaptable, though. What cooking I do tends towards...Asian recipes, I guess, and the squash I'm used to is the small round green things. So these giant yellow squashes threw me off like you wouldn't believe.

[via_ostiense]

You can cook summer squash the same way you cook the orange-fleshed, squat, green gourds--fry as tempura, miso braise. I like to halve, peel, and seed them, then slice very thinly crosswise and put them on top of a white or pesto pizza like pepperoni. The skins are tough to peel off when the squash is raw, though, so be careful of your fingers! A vegetable peeler works if it is very sharp.

[via_ostiense]

Never mind about the peeling--I was thinking of butternut squash. Unless the skin is unusually thick, they'll soften with cooking and you can leave the peels on.

P.S.

[via_ostiense]

What kind of Asian recipes? You can also grate or julienne it for a plain stir fry or to add veggies and volume to a noodle stir fry such as pad kee mao.

[ex_citrinitas659]

Nothing too complex. I've historically been the sort of person who has a key lime pie be mistaken for a quiche and sets an oven mitt on fire, so I've been reluctant to try anything too daring.

[pennyplainknits]

Must admit, that was not what I was expecting when I clicked on the picture- to me they just look like yellow courgettes!

So, I'm going to suggest what I do with my glut of courgettes, and go with risotto. I like to grate my courgettes and sweat them very gently in a mix of olive oil and butter for a good 10 minutes before adding the onion for the risotto base. That way you get rid of most of the water, and they go wonderfully creamy. I'm assuming the same holds good for squash.

Do you need a recipe for risotto?

[ex_citrinitas659]

I took a picture to give you an idea. And I didn't notice it the first time, but the skin's prickly.

Yes, please! I mean, I know I could just search for it, but getting people to point me in the right direction will likely save me from a lot of heartache and stomach ache.

[pennyplainknits]

Ok, in that case, I might try peeling it, dicing it and roasting it in a hot oven with some olive oil before adding it to the risotto near the end.

This is how I make a basic risotto, as near as I can remember- I don't use a recipe, I just make it, so all amounts are approximate. This serves one person

1 onion diced finely
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
About 1/3 cup risotto rice (this is special, short-grained rice, not regular basmati)
About 700ml of hot stock. You can use any stock, I most often use chicken or vegetable stock. I keep it in a saucepan on a low burner so it stays hot
about 60ml (1/4 cup ish) of white wine
Butter
Olive oil
Cream, or Parmesan Cheese (I'll get flamed for this, but the cheese is optional. I can't eat it, so I don't add it. I do sometimes add a slug of cream instead, but not always)

Melt the butter in a heavy based pan (I use my cast-iron one) and add a slug of olive oil (this stops the butter burning) Add the onion and garlic and sweat gently over a low heat until the onion is translucent but not coloured. Add the rice and stir it about to coat it in the oil-butter-onion goodness. Add the wine, and let it bubble, stirring, until the wine is absorbed. Add the hot stock, a ladle full at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding the next lot. It is the stirring that makes the risotto creamy! Start testing the rice when you have added about 500ml of the stock- you are looking for creamy, tender rice, but not mush. Sometimes 500ml is enough. Sometimes you might run out of stock-if that happens, just add some hot water from the kettle instead.

Once the rice is cooked and creamy, stir through a couple tablespoons cream, or some parmesan shavings. This will thicken the risotto further. Add your roasted squash, and maybe some toasted pinenuts, and stir them together. Season.

I often make a pea and spinach risotto by adding some frozen peas towards the end of cooking the risotto so they cook in the hot stock and rice, and stirring through some baby spinach at the end, just so it wilts in the heat of the risotto.

[rainbow]

I love them shredded and sauteed in olive oil with garlic, thinly sliced the long fat way and subbed for lasagna noodles, cut in have the long way, the center scooped out, center minced and cooked iwth onions, celery, (meat if you like, or meat sub ditto), cooked rice/quinoa/other grain if desired, the whole mess moistened with a sauce (tomato was traditional in my family) and seasoned with salt and pepper, stuffed generously back in the center and mounded up, sprinkled with parmesan, and baked until the outer part is tender.

They're also yummy just cut up, drizzled with olive oil, celtic salt, and pepper and roasted in a moderately hot oven until they're tender and starting to carmelise.

Chop and add to stirfries, soups, stews (add towards the end), pasta dishes... it's wonderfully adaptable.

If you have freezer room, you can slice/chunk them, freeze on sheets until hard, pack into half gallon canning jars or zipper bags, and have a nice winter store of squash.

[doctor_denmark]

Use a vegetable peeler to turn them into thin ribbons and then boil them or steam them for a couple of minutes until they soften. Then serve them with a tomato sauce as you would with pasta.

Really good for a light lunch or dinner with garlic bread.

[ex_citrinitas659]

I've got freezer room. Any perils of freezing squash I'd have to beware of? I can't imagine many, but given the likelihood of an overabundance of squash I'll likely have to freeze some, and I'd rather avoid any stupid mistakes if I can manage it.

[rainbow]

Yay freezer room! (one of my favourite things is my chest freezer. It's about 6x3x3 *g*)

No perils, really. Just bear in mind it'll usually be limp adn wet when it thaws, so be prepared for that. If you have one of the doohickeys that pulls air out of canning jars it helps prevent freezer burn, but I tend to use up my squash within a few months in the freezer and have never had any that wasn't usable.

Oh! Oh! Chopped squash sauteed with onions is also yummy in omelettes, I forgot about that.

And squash cooked in tomato sauce with seasonings is yummy and freezable; I learned the hard way to leave 1" headroom *and* DO NOT PUT THE LIDS ON UNTIL IT'S FROZEN. *g* I set the seals on top, but the rings stay out until anything goopy is frozen since sometimes it volcanos up, and if the lid's in the way, the jars shatter. o.O

[carenejeans]

If you like cheese & corn & tomatoes, make Calabacitas. If you google on it, you'll get a lot of recipes, but basically you cube your squash and saute it with onions, peppers (hot or mild), corn, and tomatoes, preferably fresh -- did your boss plant tomatoes? 8-) When it's done, grate a pile of monterey jack cheese over the top. I tend to make the veggies mild, then use pepper jack. And cilantro, because I love it, but not everyone does.

It's really fast and easy to make, and you can tweak it endlessly. I even put green beans in it sometimes. But that's because I have an ongoing explosion of green beans in my garden. Where do you live? Heh.

Calabacitas, rice, and refried beans make an excellent dinner.

[ex_citrinitas659]

Southern Oregon, currently.

Sadly, no tomatoes, although I did also get a giant cucumber. Still, I've pretty much got everything you mentioned so I'll be trying this soon. Thanks! It does sound delicious. Maybe I'll make it tonight...

[cyprinella]

You're gotten a bunch of tasty sounding recipes so I'll throw one more use out there: If you or someone you know has herbivorous fish like plecos or goldfish, you can slice and freeze the squash, and then throw a round or two into the tank for the fish. Freezing helps them break down a bit and sink (you could also parboil them). This is a great way to get rid of some that the grower let get too big and seedy.

[ex_citrinitas659]

I'll keep this in mind. I don't know anyone and at the moment I don't have any fish, but I'll likely be getting some when I move in December...the apartment I'm currently in has a no pets at all policy, fishtanks included.

[par_avion]

A really quick side dish is to just slice them thin and saute with onions: delicious!

[ex_citrinitas659]

You know, I was at first worried because it was like...squash. What can you do with a squash? Apparently I hit the most versatile vegetable jackpot. And I've got onions, so if I don't make something someone else mentioned above I'll be starting with this. Hopefully.

[stealth_noodle]

If you've got a favorite zucchini bread recipe, you can substitute yellow squash for the zucchini and make moist, delicious squash bread.

[ex_citrinitas659]

I don't yet, but this is a good time to figure out a favorite bread recipe. It's looking like I'll need to invest in a grater.

[stealth_noodle]

I'd recommend one of the box graters with a handle on top. I used to use a flat grater, which was fine for a bit of cheddar cheese but a huge pain for things like squash and sweet potatoes.

Also, this is my go-to zucchini bread recipe, especially with the chocolate chips in. Yum.

[feuervogel]

I made this zucchini bread recipe (sans chocolate chips), and it's indeed awesome.

[jumpuphigh]

After reading all the comments, now I want squash. It really is one of the most versatile veggies out there. I usually just slice and saute with butter if I want something simple. However, you can roast it with other veggies and then eat it hot or cold on buttered bread. (YUM!) Let me know if you are interested and I can dig out my roasting recipe.

[ex_citrinitas659]

I'm interested in the recipe. I'm not sure how well it would work with the two I've got: I tried one earlier tonight and it was incredibly watery. You know how really watery squash handles roasting?

[azurehart]

I slice them thin and layer them in a microwave safe dish with a little onion, garlic, and butter. Put a lid on that and microwave on high for about 8 minutes (more or less depending on your microwave).


The large ones are also good grilled. Cut into thick pieces, brush with olive oil, sprinkle on a little garlic, and grill. I usually grill mine with onions, mushrooms, and eggplant. It's so good, I usually don't even need a meat dish to go with it.

[ex_citrinitas659]

It does sound delicious. Added bonus, it sounds hard to mess up. (I tried to make squash pancakes earlier, I ended up with mashed squash somehow. Not my finest moment. Thanks!

[azurehart]

You're welcome :)

[gramina]

When they're non-giant, I like to slice them fairly thin and just pan fry them in butter -- til they're hot and soft but not limp/dead, with maybe a little soy sauce or a little black pepper, whatever smells good to you.

Simple, but so good --!

[hugh_mannity]

Ratatouille

Stuffed and baked (this will freeze well)

There's a recipe for a sweet zucchini pickle over at Fearless Kitchen which sounds delicious and will keep without refrigeration. Fearless Kitchen has a lot of interesting recipes and her directions are pretty clear.

If you have a real glut making pickles or other preserves is a good plan because you can always give the excess away. :)

[ex_citrinitas659]

It's...apparently amazing, from what I heard. Her squashes are booming and she doesn't have enough people to give them to. Making matters worse, her husband is the type of guy who's ready to pull up the plants (and has done so in the past) if the squash linger for too long because why grow them if nobody wants them? Something like that. I'll likely tell her tomorrow that if she wants to bring in more I'll take them and continue down this list.

[amalnahurriyeh]

My zucchini/summer squash recipe of choice this summer:

1) Heat olive oil in a pan, and squash sliced in thin slices (I usually quarter the zucchini into spears and then slice). Salt well so it loses water. Cook until it starts browning.

2) Add sliced onion. Cook until the onion is browning.

3) Kill heat. Add a heaping tablespoon scoop of fig jam, stir to coat. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar.

This could be a bruchetta topping, could be served with rice, could be eaten with a spoon, could have cooked lentils or chickpeas added for protein. It is delicious.

Subs for the fig jam...I don't have any ideas off the top of my head, but maybe a blackberry jam or something else with some complexity. Like, strawberry might be overpoweringly sweet, for instance.

Yesterday, I briefly pan-fried some zucchini and then poured some balsamic over them to deglaze, and put them in a sandwich with fried tofu slices and pesto. That was pretty om nom nom.

If they're really big and the insides are kinda meh, you could stuff them. Split 'em in half, scrape out the insides with a spoon, run a knife through 'em so they're not in giant chunks, saute with garlic and oil and whatever flavorings you like, mix with cooked rice, maybe some cheese of some sort (parmesan, or an aged goat cheese, or maybe a good crunchy gruyere), salt the hallowed-out bits, stuff, bake until the outsides are done. Obviously lots of types of meat could go in this too, if you eat meat. Really big squash can be watery and not so tasty, so sometimes you need to do damage control.