Your Favourite Squash Recipe(s)...

OK, who's got a favourite squash recipe they'd like to share? Yellow crookneck, hubbard, acorn, patty pan, turban, pumpkin, zucchini, spaghetti, delicata, etc...

I never met a squash I didn't like, but I think my fav would have to be stuffed kabocha or buttercup squash. Cut the squash around the top stem, much like you would to make a jack o' lantern. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds & stringy goo. Fill cavity with stuffing mixture, right up to the top; be sure to tamp it in well.

Stuffing: Roughly equal parts maple sausage (1 reg. tube), cooked jasmine rice (or cooked barley), frozen chopped spinach (thawed & drained, squeeze out excess liquid); 3/4 cup chopped green onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 tablespoons dried & crushed sweet basil, 1 teaspoon dried & crushed thyme, 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce. Mix it all up in a big bowl, hands & fingers are the best way to mix this. Keep mixing till you have a good, even blend. Depending on the size & type of squash, you should have enough filling for 2.

Bake on a cookie sheet at 375*F for 1 hour (or until done), testing every so often with a fork. Fork should sink into squash easily & remove easily & cleanly. Don't puncture the rind/skin.

You might have a tough time getting the squash to stay level, you can use wide mouth canning jar rings under the squash to keep them level, it works great!

So post your fav squash recipes & get some in return!
Regards, GF.

EDIT: You'll likely have some filling left over, you can form it into patties or meatballs & fry it up in a skillet or even bake it in the oven.
Regards, GF.

I usually just do Acorn cut in half and cooked upside down for 30 minutes, then flip and add butter and brown sugar or honey and cook for another 30 mins or until tender through.

BUT - I had heard that you can microwave them and they coem out very nice, so I tried that and the cooking method is to cut in half and place in cooking pan cut side up with brown sugar butter inside. Add a bit of water to the pan and cover with plastic wrap and microwave for about 15 minutes.

They come out just fine.

Just tried Spaghetti Squash few days ago. Cooked in oven split like acorn, but afterwards pulled the stringy insides out and sauted in a pan with garlic and butter and paremsan or other favorite cheese. Tasted almost the same as pasta. (underdone just a bit, so slightly crunchy) A friend of mine says she cooks it with marinara sauce and can't hardly tell it from real spaghetti.

Summer squashes like yellow I just slice into bit sized chunks and steam in a steamer with other veggies like zucchini, broccoli, etc.

OR, slice them longways rub with olive oil and roast on the grill (zucchini too) and flip. Then sprinkle Parmesan or other favorite cheese and cook until tender.

I can't recall if I've ever had butternut.

I've made a zucchini "lasagna" that comes out really well. Use your favorite recipe of spaghetti sauce, mandolin-thin slices of zucchini (lengthwise), good mozzarella and parm. I like to give the zucchini a little drizzle of good olive oil first and apply a little dried herbs (fresh seem to get lost to the zucchini).

Even better the second day.

adapted from a 'cooks illustrated' recipe, this is dead easy, and will impress the socks off your dinner guests

dragon hammer butternut squash soup

1 butternut squash
~3 T butter? a good amount anyways, but the seeds and shallots should never be swimming in butter
~4 medium sized shallots, diced finely
salt
water
some cream, around 100-200 mls depending on how much you like cream
optional, but i like: 1-2 tsp dark brown sugar, 1 hearty splash of sherry
equipment: fire, big pot, steamer basket, mesh strainer, blender of some sort

heat a soup pot on medium heat, and toss in the butter. it can foam but don't brown it.
add the shallots. cook slowly, don't let them brown.
halve the squash, scoop out the guts and keep them; all the stringy dark parts and all of the seeds, throw them in with the shallots. everything!
stir occasionally and make sure nothing burns. it should start to smell nutty and wonderful and the butter should go orange
give it 5 minutes or so on low enough heat. shallots should be soft and translucent, seeds can go a bit dark. the orange guts will stick to the bottom a bit and darken but not burn. flavor development!
meanwhile hack the squash into a few manageable pieces. you can peel it first (i prefer to), or scoop the flesh away from the haggard skin once it's cooked.
put the steamer basket in the pot over the orange gunk, arrange the squash in the basket, add a few cups of water, cover and let it steam for long enough. 15-20 minutes should do it.
the squash should be just soft enough to poke with a knife, can still be a bit firm in the middle, doesn't need to be mushy.
remove the steamer and strain the "bottom liquid" ahem. press through the strainer with a firm hand. the shallots will sort of mush up and gunge themselves through the mesh. harvest all of that tasty goup.
chuck the seeds, return the juice and squash (peeled now if you didn't do it before) to the pot. if you are serving later, leave it like this, as it's easier to reheat than after blending.
get the heat back on, add the brown sugar and sherry, and when it's back to a simmer blend the daylights out of it, adding water if necessary. it should be velvety smooth. taste for salt content, add the cream, mix well, don't leave it cooking at this point; just get it hot and serve immediately

I love this one. Even the kids will eat it.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/yellow-squash-casserole/

Ingredients
4 cups sliced yellow squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
35 buttery round crackers, crushed
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2.Place squash and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in a small amount of water. Cover, and cook until squash is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well, and place in a large bowl.
3.In a medium bowl, mix together cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir half of the cracker mixture into the cooked squash and onions. In a small bowl, mix together eggs and milk, then add to squash mixture. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Spread into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cracker mixture, and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Just made this one for the first time last night. Came out awesome.

Barrigas de Vieja (puerto rican squash fritters)

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp vanilla extract
Canola oil

Steam the squash for thirty minutes or until soft. Mash with a potato masher, then mix in all the dry ingredients. Beat the egg and add to dough mixture. Heat a ¼” of canola oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add spoonfuls of dough and fry 2-3 minutes on each side until brown or slightly burnt on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

I'm resurrecting this thread cuz it's that time of year again, squash is on the menu for me this weekend. Going to bake & stuff acorn squash with flaked salmon, long grain & wild rice, lemon, thyme, chopped kale and shallots in the rice (Thanks again Melana!) Sides will be roasted brussels sprouts & ginger glazed carrots.

I'll make an appetizer of the alligator I got last weekend; no spices on the gator, I want to be able to taste it for what it is as this'll be the 1st time I've ever eaten alligator. So how do you cook your squash?
Regards, GF.

I'm a big fan of roasted delicata squash tossed with whole wheat pasta and sausage. Cube the squash, toss with cheap olive oil, salt and pepper, roughly chopped onions, garlic, and fresh sage. Spread it on a cookie sheet and roast at 400 or so until it's tender with a good bit of color.

While it's roasting, cook whole wheat or multigrain pasta (rotini or penne work well) al dente, and brown some cut up sausages. Chicken and apple sausage goes great with this, I don't eat meat too often so I usually do a veggie sausage. If you want you can just combine the sausage with the squash mixture and let it roast in the oven, that works too. Drain the pasta and toss it all together with the roasted squash and sausage. Optional additions: fresh grated parm, toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of good olive oil.

This works great with butternut too, but delicata is easier (no peeling!) and a bit tastier IMO.

For something completely different, try squash tacos. Dice the delicata or butternut into 1/4" cubes, then saute it over high heat with a small splash of oil. Keep tossing it around until it's browned, crunchy and cooked through, then start dumping on your favorite taco spices/seasonings or whatever blend you prefer. Turn off the heat and toss it around for another minute to make sure the spices are mixed in well. I like these on slightly charred corn tortillas with a base of refried beans, then the squash, then some diced raw tomato and onion, cilantro, shredded cheese and a bit of sour cream or even yogurt if you wanna feel healthy.

While this squash recipe may not be as healthy as steaming or oven roasting, it does suffice the fried fix you may crave from time to time.

3-4 Yellow crookneck squash
1 Cup Yellow corn meal
1 Small Onion
1 tsp Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 TBSP Water
3 TBSP Oil (canola preferred)
Salt

Cut the squash into medallions. (Half/quarter the large ones to keep sizes consistent). Mix in bowl with 1 TBSP water and diced onion.

In another bowl mix 1 cup corn meal, garlic powder, and pepper.

Add squash to cornmeal and mix together until you have good coverage.

The add to heated oil in skillet and cook for 15-20 mins until golden brown (or to your liking). Salt to taste.

I prefer yellow cornmeal as it adds a bit more sweetness than white, but it is good either way.

Thought I'd bump this thread again. I made stuffed spaghetti squash the other day, it always turns out tasty. Cut in 1/2 & scoop out the seeds & goo, smear the entire cavity liberally with butter or margerine, sprinkle entire cavity with dried, crushed sweet basil; if it doesn't say "sweet," it's not what you want for this.

Bake for 45 mins @ 375*F. Now for the filling/stuffing, you can change it up to pretty much anything you like, but my usual is mashed potatoes with peas & carrots mixed in & a good sprinkle of granulated chicken bullion mixed in too. A pat or 3 of butter, about a teaspoon of dried, crushed sage & a dash of black pepper.

After the squash has baked, spoon the stuffing mix into the cavities & give each a very light, VERY LIGHT dusting of ground thyme. Go easy with the thyme, it tends to amplify saltiness; you could certainly omit the thyme if you want. Now I like to top this with chicken from a can, but you could use any cooked chicken really. The canned stuff is just quick & easy. Add a bit of fresh ground black pepper & a little more dried, crushed sweet basil & pop it all back into the oven for about 20 mins or so, again @ 375*F.

It's all cooked, what you're wanting is to heat it all through & brown the chicken on top, when it's browned on top, it's ready. You could also give this a healthy dash of parmesan cheese on top if you like, it's tasty that way too. I've also used cooked rice or cooked barley instead of potatoes, Chopped kale works well in the stuffing too.

Anybody else have a squash recipe they like & want to share?
Regards, GF.

i sometimes make butternut squash gnocchi but i don't really have a recipe. it's something like: steam the squash, mush it up and let it cool and evaporate off water. add an egg, some flour (that's the kicker, too much and they are hard and like stale bread, not enough and they don't form the required bit of gluten and are gooey), salt and nutmeg. some people add enough flour that the dough becomes like regular gnocchi dough which you can roll out and cut, mine is with less flour and the dough is like a paste; you can't really handle it. form quenelle-shapes between two spoons and plop them one at a time into boiling salted water (or just plop in a teaspoonful at a time), do this quickly as they cook quickly, skim them off with a slotted spoon when they float. serve with browned butter, almonds, and sage, or whatever you like.

for the browned butter heat good sized gob of butter in a frying pan, let it foam, over a few minutes let it go brown and develop a good nutty aroma. it may smoke a bit. turn off the heat, add sage leaves and let them cook a few seconds, don't let them brown, then remove to a paper towel where they will crisp up as they dry. add some almonds and let them go beige, then add the gnocchi and toss them in the butter over high heat for 20-30 sec, adding a bit of the cooking water back to the pan. serve and scatter the sage leaves over the top. add parmigiano cheese if you want some tang/umami. or pecorino for more tang. i go without the cheese in this case.

I'm quite the fan of cubing a winter squash together with some yams and baking apples, tossing it with some brown sugar, cinnamon, bit of salt & cracked pepper or allspice and simply roasting it on a sheet pan until all is fork tender then drizzling some maple syrup on it. It a good fall side dish.

Squash on the grill:
Spaghetti squash: Halve squash and scoop seeds. Grill and alternate placing directly over coals and indirect heating (need lid). Don't go too long over the coals as they might split if too hot. When it looks done, fill with spaghetti sauce and top with mozzarella cheese and put lid on grill until melted.
Acorn squash: Same as above except fill with maple syrup, a little butter and sprinkle some cinnamon...

I have yellow patty pans that I did not plant intentionally. Never had them before. I am going to saute some tonight with whatever other veggies I can find in the fridge/garden. Anything I must try?

A little late now, but for future reference, basil, sweet basil, oregano & thyme all go very well with squash. I like to stir-fry little baby patty pans & baby zucchini in a little oil (olive/dark sesame/hazelnut/etc...) with a good sprinkle (about a tablespoon) of dried, crushed sweet basil, a dash of salt & a dash of black pepper. Simple & tasty.

Tomatoes would go well with the above too, along with some diced onion. With tomatoes added, you almost have to add some dried, crushed oregano. Maybe add some shredded parmesan cheese just before serving.

How did you end up making those patty pans anyway?
Regards, GF.

I never finished making them. I can't remember now what I put in with them. I took a taste half way through and they were terribly bitter. Maybe they got too big or I did not trim them up properly? I have some small ones to pick so maybe I'll try again.

lschiavo said:

I never finished making them. I can't remember now what I put in with them. I took a taste half way through and they were terribly bitter. Maybe they got too big or I did not trim them up properly? I have some small ones to pick so maybe I'll try again.

Click to expand...

I've always used small patty-pans, about 2, maybe 3 inches across; never noticed any bitterness.
Regards, GF.

Funny how you see something in the store and immediately think of homebrewtalk.

shelly_belly said:

Funny how you see something in the store and immediately think of homebrewtalk.

Click to expand...

I've never tried pickled patty pans, but pickled yellow crookneck is pretty awesome, I'll have to keep an eye out for those pickled patty pans.
Regards, GF.