Okay, so I went to the farmer’s market today. I got the cherries I was hoping to get. I also bought some green beans. When I goggled at one of the squashes and it’s unusual shape, the woman told me it was a sunburst squash, and threw it in my bag for free telling me to “try it.”
I’ve only ever cooked zuccini and butternut squash. This thing is too small to make a meal of, especiall since I’d like both myself and the Kangaroo_in_Black to try it. How should I make this into a tasty snack or side dish?
Those are also called pattypan, if I’m not mistaken. You use them just like you’d use any other yellow summer squash. I’m partial cooking them a bit, hollowing them out, stuffing them with a crabmeat mixture and putting them in the oven.
Sunburst vary in size from a couple inches in diameter to 8 or more, so the cooking time will vary.
Cut the squash along the equator, and spoon out the seeds.
Slap the squash halves open face down on a cookiesheet and bake at 350 for about 45 min, or until tender. Flip, add butter and brown sugar, and eat with a spoon.
You can also cook squash in the microwave. In a cover dish, or on a plate with a quarter cup or so of water on it. Again, place the squash open face down. 12-16 minutes should do it for a 6-8" squash.
Oven cooked squash tastes a little better than microwaved squash.
I’ve eaten all sorts of different squash, and my favorite is the Hubbard squash. They can weigh several pounds, and are practically a meal in themselves.
I didn’t realize they were so small. Get some butter and diced shallots going in a pan over medium heat. Quarter the squash (remove the stem and bottom–blossom end first) and sautee them until soft and ready to eat. Throw in a diced tomato, a handful of fresh (or frozen) early June peas and a bit of blanched green beans and you’ve got yourself a nice summer medley of veggies. Top off the whole mess with some shredded Parm and serve over rice, cous cous or Quinoa.
I cook yellow summer squash just steamed with onion. Slice squash into disks and slice some onion. Add salt and pepper, and a dash of sugar to sweeten it up a bit if you like. Only takes about 10-15 minutes. I bet you could cook the sunburst kind the same way.
Not only small, UrbanChic, there’s also only one squash, and it’s only that small. It’s like a farmer’s market “taste test”. However, your recipe there does sound really good.
