Six Picks for Fabulous Summer Squash Recipes
Yellow summer squash is probably not the most popular vegetable around. It is either too strongly favored, too mushy or to bland. However, this summer vegetable is delightful when prepared properly. Add in fresh seasonings — basil, thyme and garlic — and summer squash dishes just “pop” with flavor.. Yellow squash is inexpensive and plentiful in the summertime which makes great reasons to include it in our meals. We all could benefit from eating more vegetables! Over the years, I have sought out recipes which help summer squash shine. Here are six of my picks.
- Aunt Fanny’s Baked Squash Casserole,
- Mrs. Elias’ Stuffed Yellow Squash,
- Galen’s Spaghetti Sauce with Garden Fresh Vegetables,.
- Squash and Vegetable Sauté,
- 1000 Figs Restaurant and Braised Summer Squash with Feta Cheese Extraordinaire,
- Yellow Squash Ratatouille
The links to the recipes for these dishes are at the end of this post. They are on a companion blog: beyondgumbo.com
There are several types of summer squash which are easy to grow in a Louisiana garden. I plant the vegetables in early spring (March). Yellow squash — both straight and crookneck, zucchini and patty pan squash are all varieties which I have planted.
By May, the the tiny squash seedlings grow into huge plants.
Multiple squash develop on each plant from beautiful yellow flowers. Although the flowers are edible; I would rather wait for the squash to develop!
I pick the squash when they are still young, small, tender and mildy flavored. These squash seem to grow overnight, so it is best to check them daily. Here, these four squash weight one pound..
“Aunt Fanny’s Baked Squash Casserole” will turn you into a summer squash believer. This squash casserole dish is really a custard dish; light and tasty. It is filled with summer squash, vegetable seasonings, eggs, butter and topped with bread crumbs. The recipe is from family friend, Doris Metzler. I don’t remember when we got the recipe, but undoubtly it was served at a church picnic or event when I was growing up..
“Mrs. Elias’ Stuffed Yellow Squash” is a Lebanese dish and it is an excellent and novel way to serve squash. Mrs. Elias’ was of Lebanese descent who lived in New Orleans. She cooked her favorite dishes for her son and friends when they were in graduate school. The dishes were full of unique spices and seasonings which made these dishes special. Eventually, her story and the recipes made it to our local newspaper in 2012. I saved the food section of the paper for years; primarily because it had an article about our Italian neighbors and some of their recipes. Mrs. Elias’ recipes were on the next page. One day, I noticed the squash recipe and tried it. Wow, am I glad I did.
“Galen’s Spaghetti Sauce with Garden Fresh Vegetables” is full of flavor and healthy ingredients. It makes a knock-out tomato sauce to ladle over pasta. In addition to ground meat, the ingredients include eggplant. yellow squash, zucchini, onions and bell peppers. The huge pot of sauce just simmers on the stove as the vegetables meld and mash together and the flavors blend. Recently, I made a recipe of the sauce. After our meal was finished, I froze the remainder of the sauce. I defrosted and reheated the sauce when we had company for supper. Everyone loved it. It was better the second time around after we heated it again.
The simpliest way to cook summer squash, in my opinion. is simply to sauté it on the stove along with herbs. In fact, a sautéed yellow squash and cabbage recipe is how I learned to like yellow squash. The squash is tender and flavorful. You can easily control the cooking so that it doesn’t become soft and mushy. Here is “Squash and Vegetable Sauté,” one of my many variations of this dish. I like the seasonings of basil, thyme and garlic powder and perhaps a little pepper. The herbs and garlic compliment the squash perfectly.
We found another Mediterranean recipe for sauteed yellow squash when we ate at the tiny, upscale New Orleans restaurant, 1000 Figs. This restaurant served very unique dishes — typical of contemporary cuisine and chefs of this city. The restaurant’s sautéed squash was served along with hummus and pita bread. I came home and created a copycat recipe of the dish. Here is “Braised Summer Squash.” Serve it with hummus, pita bread and feta cheese and garnished the dish with spinach leaves.
My last “pick six” recipe shows off yellow squash at it’s best. “Yellow Squash Ratatouille” combines summer yellow squash with tomatoes and seasonings to make a zesty tomato sauce. Ratatouille is a classic French dish from Nice in the region of Provence, France. It is basically a vegetable stew made from fresh summer vegetables such as tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers. The summer vegetables used depends upon the chef! When served with pasta, “Yellow Squash Ratatouille” makes a delicious vegetarian entrée.
The USDA – US Department of Agriculture – has developed the “My Plate” system to teach consumers about a healthy diet. According to “My Plate” guidelines, 1/2 of our plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables each day — the other half with grains and protein. That’s alot of vegetables!
Enjoy some of these recipes for healthy meals this summer!
Reference:
https://www.myplate.gov/ “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 – 2025”
Blog Post Links:
- Aunt Fanny’s Baked Squash Casserole, https://beyondgumbo.com/2016/08/23/aunt-fannys-summer-squash-casserole/
- Mrs. Elias’ Stuffed Yellow Squash, https://beyondgumbo.com/2014/07/23/lebanese-style-stuffed-yellow-squash/
- Galen’s Spaghetti Sauce with Garden Fresh Vegetables,. https://beyondgumbo.com/2015/07/28/galens-spaghetti-sauce-with-garden-fresh-vegetables/
- Squash and Vegetable Sauté, https://beyondgumbo.com/2015/09/22/two-summer-squash-and-basil-recipes/
- 1000 Figs Restaurant and Braised Summer Squash with Feta Cheese Extraordinaire, https://beyondgumbo.com/2016/06/21/summer-squash-extraordinaire-and-1000-figs-restaurant/
- Yellow Squash Ratatouille https://beyondgumbo.com/2022/07/10/yellow-squash-ratatouille/
