The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

Recipe : Squah Time!

by [irulan]




Doesn’t the word squash have a nice ring to it? Unfortunately, many people write off this vegetable without giving it a try. Why? There are many possibilities: some varieties look very alien, some kids were forced to eat it all the time, or maybe some people had bad squash experiences around Halloween (yes, pumpkins are a kind of squash). I’m telling you, get past your reservations and try it. Many varieties of squash exist, and this time of year there are piles of them at the grocery and farmer’s markets. I’m only going to cover a few ideas here.

Zucchini and yellow squash – Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to make a packet with. Slice one zucchini and one squash into 1” rounds and divide those slices into quarters. Put them in a bowl. Toss them with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs or spices. What kind of herbs and spices? You pick. If you have fresh cilantro or rosemary, use that. If you are in the mood for a hot, spicy side dish, use some chili powder. Toss the vegetables until they are coated with oil. Put them on the center of your foil sheet, and fold the sheet around the vegetables to make a packet. You can either grill this for approximately 20 minutes, or put it into a 375F degree oven for 30 minutes.

Acorn squash – Preheat the oven to 400F degrees. Cut off the top of your squash and discard. Using a large spoon, clean out the seeds from the inside of the squash. Rinse the inside with a small amount of water to remove all of the seeds. (You can save the seeds for toasting if you wish). Put a small pat of butter inside the squash (approximately one tablespoon). Add an equal amount of light brown sugar. Using your fingers, cover the inside of the squash with a light coating of light brown sugar. Put the squash on a cookie sheet and bake for approximately one hour or until squash is tender. Eat with a spoon.

Butternut squash – Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Halve one butternut squash lengthwise. Peel and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into French fry size sticks. Toss these in a large bowl with olive oil. Spread them in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until they are golden and can be pierce with a knife. While they are baking, prepare a dipping sauce. Take ½ cup of sour cream and mix with two tablespoons of maple syrup. In a separate bowl, prepare seasoning. Mix two tablespoons coarse salt with ½ teaspoon ground cumin and ½ teaspoon ground chili powder. When the fries are finished, sprinkle the seasoned salt on them. Serve with the maple sour cream.

Now you have no excuses not to try this delicious vegetable. You can thank me later.




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