This beauty is the first of my heirloom Patisson Panache Jaune et Vert summer squash. I'm not sure what the French translation of the name is exactly, but from the Spanish I learned in high school and college, and the Latin I picked up in grad school, I can assume that the translation is something about green. And green it is: a beautiful, creamy light green that is almost too pretty to eat. But that would be a big mistake. Big. Huge mistake (five bonus points for anyone who gets that movie reference!).
I have two hills of these planted out at the community garden, and they have been a lot of fun to watch. The
blossoms are remarkable, the little fruit is too cute for words, and they appear to be a great producer to boot! I harvested this one at its very young and tender stage, when the squash was about four inches across. I will be letting a few of them grow a little longer in the next round, as they will develop a more buttery color and green streaks as they mature, but this certainly won't be the only one I harvest this young.
The squash is incredibly tender and creamy, and it has a firmer, more pleasant texture than most zucchini and yellow summer squash. I probably could have eaten the whole thing raw, slice by slice and been perfectly satisfied with it, but then I would have missed out on this quick little garden meal that was even better.
I took a couple of minutes to hallow out and steam the squash in microwave; another couple of minutes to saute freshly harvested shallot, diced squash, Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, and a few basil ribbons with a little olive oil, left over crumbled Italian sausage, salt and pepper, and another minute to stuff the squash and lunch was ready in no time. I completely made this up as I went along, so you can't go wrong adapting it to whatever is coming out of your garden right now (oh, and by the way, the Sun Gold tomatoes are incredible when cooked down like this).
Stuffed Heirloom Patty Pan Squash
1 patty pan squash
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Half of a small shallot, diced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup crumbled Italian sausage, cooked
Basil leaves
Shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Cut around the stem of the squash and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Dice the extra squash from around the stem and set aside. Steam the squash in the microwave for 2 minutes.
In a small pan, saute the diced shallots for 1 minute. Add in the diced squash and saute for about another minute before adding in the tomatoes and sausage. Cook for another minute or two, and season with basil ribbons and salt and pepper, to taste.
Remove the squash from the microwave and stuff with the filling (I added just a pinch of mozzarella cheese to the bottom before spooning in the filling).
For larger crowds (or cooler days): try roasting the patty pan squash in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees instead of steaming in the microwave before stuffing.
Labels: basil, Grow It Forward, patty pan squash, recipes, shallots, tomatoes
