Huh. My control panel tells me that I haven’t logged on since October; I didn’t think it had been that long… Anyway, I have acquired about 4-5 pounds of squash (Summer squash… I think? It looks like this) from a food bank yesterday, and I have no idea what to do with it, so I beseech the Dope for recipe suggestions.
I do my regular grocery shopping tomorrow (Sunday) so, for the purposes of this thread, please assume that I don’t have anything but the squash itself. I don’t have any dietary restrictions, but I am on a fixed income, so I’m probably not going to be able to afford any really expensive ingredients (for frame of reference, I do something like 90 percent of my grocery shopping at Aldi). I am partial to savory dishes, and prefer my food to be seasoned with more than just salt in pepper. Also, if it matters, I do not have access to a food processor.
You can use it more or less like you would zucchini. Cut it up into bite sized pieces and roast with butter salt, pepper, garlic and parm. Stew it with tomatoes. Slice and layer it into a lasagna. I’m told it makes good pickles but I’ve never tried it.
I think it’s a little odd that you think that someone who’s asking for recipe suggestions for squash makes a habit of cooking with zucchini, but okay… That roasted with garlic and parm thing sounds interesting, if you wouldn’t mind divulging any additional info?
Not much more to add, chop and season your squash and roast at 400 degrees until done to your liking or the smoke alarm goes off.
I don’t know what you know or what ingredients you’re used to using.
Zucchini/yellow squash is little more than water with a vegetable wrapper. Not much flavor by itself but takes the flavor of whatever it’s cooked with very nicely. The only thing I usually do with them is to chop them up when I make my big batches of tomato sauce.
I do something related to Alphatwit’s roasting. Usually I use both zucchini and yellow/summer squash for a little extra color variety when I have to buy them anyway. I’ll start roasting a chicken breast just to make sure I’ve killed any nasties. Then I put in the squash sliced up into the same covered container and top the whole mess with a can of tomatoes. (Crushed, diced, sliced…whatever.) I like onions and garlic quite a bit so adding some sliced onion, diced garlic, or both is common. Bake until the whole thing is near cooked through. I’ll typically add some cheese on top at the end and give it a few minutes to get melty. I’ll also usually boil up some pasta to serve the tomatoes and squash on top of but I worry about getting enough calories to maintain weight rather than more typical concerns about diet.
We’re still in relatively cold weather that sees me making a lot of homemade soup. Adding the summer squash as a veggie in the mix is an option. I use a lot of dried beans and only a little meat which means it’s relatively cheap for your budget. Sometimes I’ll do a veggie stock that’s more about thickening things up a bit. An onion or two (I love onion) and some cabbage, carrots, or leftover veggies simmer to softness. Then I use one of those hand mashers to grind them up. (Mash down and twist against the bottom of the pan.) The relatively light flavor of the squash would work for that pretty well.
I’m not a hundred percent sure that I understand the question, but I’ll try my best to answer, anyway. FWIW, the ingredients that show up most often in my cooking tend to be:
[ul]
[li]frozen, boneless chicken breats and/or thighs[/li][li]ground beef[/li][li]rice[/li][li]potatoes[/li][li]dried beans (black when I can afford them, pinto, when I can’t)[/li][li]flour tortillas[/li][li]garlic[/li][li]sharp cheddar cheese[/li][/ul]
My vegetables of choice tend to be:
[ul]
[li]mushrooms[/li][li]broccoli[/li][li]onions[/li][li]jalapeño peppers[/li][li]bell peppers[/li][li]avocados[/li][li]tomatoes[/li][/ul]
And my Top 5 favorite seasonings are
[ul]
[li]cayenne pepper[/li][li]paprika[/li][li]oregano[/li][li]garlic salt[/li][li]cumin[/li][/ul]
Also, I said in the OP that I don’t have any dietary restrictions, and that’s true, but I forgot to mention that I loathe cabbage, and I’m not fond of organs (hearts/livers/etc.).
So, following the recommendations in this thread, I found a recipe on Yummly for Chicken Ratatouille that appears to be relevant to my interests. I think I’m also going to give that “roasted with garlic and parm” thing a shot.
Any suggestions on what to do with the other three pounds or so? Also, how long does squash keep, because I already had my meal plan for the next seven days made out, before I came into the squash, and I can’t afford to let that food go bad.
You can make a nice summer squash bread. There are a lot of recipes online. It’s a pretty basic quick bread so not too many ingredients and you get yummy bread for days.
I made brownies and zucchini bread with the latest unexpected squash to fall upon my doorstep. There are a zillion recipes out there for zucchini and summer squash (which are pretty much interchangeable). I personally go to this list when I need an idea or three.
Not vegan, because of the cheese, but it’s a vegetable dish. The eggplant gives it a meaty base. Eggplant is a small pain to cook with, as it needs to be heavily salted and allowed to drain before cooking, but ratatouille is a great dish.
Maybe I’m the odd ball here, bur I like squash of all types as an occasional side dish. Seems like it goes with just about anything. If you keep it refrigerated, a whole uncut squash should keep perfectly well for a week allowing you to add it to the next week’s menu.
I’m not a big fan of summer squash, but I adore this salad. Bonus: super easy!
~ 1.5 pounds of squash
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
2 T. white vinegar. White wine vinegar is great, but you can use any vinegar you have around.
4 T. oil (corn, veggy, whatever)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the squash into discs about 1/4 inch thick. Put them on a cooking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle with salt. Put em’ in the oven and cook until they start to soften & slightly brown. Depending on your oven, you might want to turn on the broiler for the last few minutes or so to get a little brown.
Take out, put in a bowl, toss with the remaining ingredients. Eat. Yum!
I like cutting it into disks and pan frying it or grilling it. Usually I also toss it in some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garlic you have to be a little careful with, as it burns easily, but if I pan fry it, I flavor the oil by frying up a clove of garlic and removing it. Usually, I like pairing any type of summer squash with red peppers and/or eggplant, as wel.
I’d split the squash in half, scoop out the interior and dice it up, then mix with whatever seasonings/breadcrumbs/tofu/meat/veggies I have. Bake in a moderate oven, adding some tomato sauce to cover or even baking it in tomato sauce.
Mmmm zukes breaded with a little milk and flour lightly and briefly sauteed in butter, awesome for breakfast with maybe an egg and/or some toast.
I’m one of those who appreciates squash dishes of all sorts, but I prefer it plain, maybe with a bit of butter. I dunno, I just like squash. It’s a bit of contention tween the Guestling and I. He loathes squash, no matter what you do to it or try to disguise it.
My favorite way to cook zucchini is to run them over a shredder, salt them lightly and let them give up some juice, then stir-fry them in olive oil with a little garlic and some fresh spinach. The zukes give crunch to the spinach and the spinach and garlic give flavor to the zukes. It’s terrific with steak or lamb chops.
I’m afraid I’ve never been able to develop a taste for yellow-fleshed winter squash, which is weird. They’re sweet, they’re starchy - what’s not to like? One exception: kaobocha squash, sliced thin with the skin on, and tempura fried. Yum.
