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Squash Casserole (for People Who Don’t Like Squash Casserole)

June 27, 2014 by arfoodie

Amazing squash casserole. It'll make you a believer.

Amazing squash casserole. It’ll make you a believer.

It’s been nearly a week since my visit to Bernice Garden Farmers’ Market. Although I seem to be growing Hardin Farms squash out of my ears, I still had quite a bit left today.

Squash uncut

Solution: Squash casserole.

Thing is, I don’t even like squash casserole that much. It’s usually really soft and squishy. And really oniony, which doesn’t always agree with my tummy. And kinda bland.

Time for a remodel.

1. First, to tackle the squishy squash problem. Most recipes require boiling the veggie. Um, how about not. Let’s try sautéing instead, over fairly high heat. This will give the squash some nice caramelization while cooking it just a bit, not to death.

2. Next, the onion. Freshness matters, so I used one from the North Little Onions for squash casseroleRock Community Farm, also at the Bernice Gardens market. Cooking it way down helps me be able to eat it, so after a small dice I added it to the same pan in which I had sautéed the squash. (The veggies had since been moved to a buttered casserole dish or individual baking dishes if you are making a lot.) I immediately added a half-cup of chicken broth and a good pinch of salt, both of which will help soften the onion and cook it to translucent without burning. When the onion was almost ready, I added one large clove of garlic, minced.

3. Lastly, I added flavor and creaminess using low-fat cream cheese. Borrowing from Crescent Dragonwagon’s renowned recipe for Featherbed Eggs, I cut half a block of cream cheese into cubes, 12 total, and pressed them down into the casserole dish of squash. Because, really, what can’t be improved by cream cheese?

The finished casserole, plated in all its delicious glory.

The finished casserole, plated in all its delicious glory.

For the entire recipe, see below. But know this…I don’t like squash casserole, and I just ate three plates of this stuff.

***********

Squash Casserole for People Who Don’t Like Squash Casserole
Serves 8 (or fewer, depending on how much you end up liking it!)

  • About 6 cups diced squash, any kind (I used zucchini, Zephyr and pattypan)
  • 1 T. butter
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, small dice
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup chicken broth, divided
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 4 oz. cream cheese (can use low-fat/Neufchatel), cut into cubes
  • 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs (I used gluten free, from leftover bread)

Slice squash into approximate 1/2″ pieces. For larger squash, quarter them before slicing; halve smaller ones. Butter the inside of a large, oven-safe casserole dish.

Sauté the squash over medium-high heat with a half-teaspoon of olive oil in multiple batches, only using enough squash each time to cover the bottom of your pan. Cast iron works well for this. Place the squash in a single layer and let it sit for about a minute, then stir to turn and let sit another minute. Once the squash is sautéed, move each batch to the buttered dish. You may need to add a bit more oil with subsequent batches to prevent burning.

Next, place the diced onion, broth and a heavy pinch of kosher salt into the empty pan; no need to clean any residue from the squash. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add more water or broth as needed to avoid burning the onion when it dries out. Add the minced garlic when the onion is almost translucent and cook another minute. Stir the mixture into the squash in the casserole dish.

Press the cut cubes of cream cheese down into the casserole dish, nestling them slightly under the squash mixture.

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 c. chicken broth with three eggs. Pour the mixture over the casserole.

Top with fresh thyme, cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until the egg mixture is no longer liquid.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Side Dishes Tagged With: casserole, cheddar, cheese, cream cheese, pattypan, squash, Zephyr, zucchini

Zucchini (as big as your arm) Parmesan

July 5, 2012 by arfoodie

Overhead shot of zucchini parmesan with tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan, garnished with basil leaf

I started the evening with the idea that, due to not feeling 100 percent, I was going to start a juice and brown rice fast tonight. No big meal here, no sirree.

The husband came home and suggested making something with the two tremendously, obscenely huge zucchini squash a work friend had sent home with him a few days ago. They still sat, looming, largely, on the kitchen counter. “Just slice them, and I’ll grill them,” he said.

Oh, my love, it’s never that simple for a fancy pants foodie.

I sliced one into rounds. Seriously, y’all, the slices were 5 or 6 inches across. They were a bit scary. And they were starting to remind me of… eggplant.

What do you make with eggplant? Eggplant Parmesan. Except we don’t really care for eggplant in our house. Even better.

I had to quickly vow to myself that I was NOT going to the store. This had to be one of those “use what’s in the house” kind of things. So here’s what I did.

I tossed the slices in some olive oil, then sprinkled them with my currently-favorite seasoning mix of Italian herbs and red pepper flakes. (Don’t add salt yet, or you’ll get smooshy zucchini.) I also did a light dusting of garlic and onion powders. If I were in less of a hurry, I would have minced the real thing.

The hubs grilled them. They were lovely.

Digging desperately in the freezer, I found a tomato sauce I had recently made, similar to this one but with green bell peppers and ground beef. I had wanted the meal to be vegetarian, but this is what I had. So be it.

I put a layer of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, then dabbed the excess moisture out of four zucchini slices and placed them in the bottom. I sprinkled on a bit of kosher salt.

Instead of battering and frying the zucchini, I just added a bit of texture with some panko crumbs. Mine were of the gluten-free variety, which I found at a local health food store. Spendy, but nice.

The next layer: Cheesy, pre-sliced mozzarella cheese. Kroger brand. (I’m staying committed to the use-what’s-here thing, people.) If you so desire, some medallions of fresh mozzarella would be lovely here. Top that with shredded parmesan, of which I was running precariously low. I nearly took off a fingertip with the Microplane trying to manage my remaining wedge.

Vegan? Use Daiya brand shredded mozz and make your own faked-out parm.

Next step: Fresh basil, from my plant in the front flower bed. A couple leaves had been visited by some sort of munching bug; I informed my husband they were “pre-licked.” He was okay with it.

The dish was finished off with another layer of zucchini slices (carefully dabbed of excess moisture as before), the last of the tomato sauce, and another dousing of parmesan.

Oven. 350. Twenty minutes or, as they say, until done.

Awesome.

I’ll fast or something later.

Filed Under: Gluten Free, Main Course Tagged With: eggplant parmesan, Gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini, zucchini parmesan

Today’s Market / Morgan’s Ratatouille

September 5, 2009 by arfoodie

I went to the Farmers’ Market this morning and loaded up for the week…I am really enjoying not buying my produce (at least, for the most part) at the grocery. It feels good to know I am supporting Arkansas farmers, and that my family is eating well.

Today, I bought a huge bag of goodies that I’ll have to figure out how to use. One trick of market shopping is not knowing exactly what you’ll find. Maybe as this blog grows, we can learn how to plan meals and cook for a week based on what is available. I bought yellow squash, zucchini, fresh blackeye peas, pepper sauce, roasted Marconi peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, the weirdest yellow-green sweet bell peppers, ground buffalo, a honey-molasses wheat baguette, and more cheese.

Guess I need to visit Recipe Puppy and see what ideas come up. Generally, if I can find the basic idea of a recipe, I can take it from there and make it my own with what is available. I’ll let you know what we make!

The finished productMeanwhile, I’ve been promising a little blurb on Morgan’s Ratatouille. If you’ve never seen the Disney movie, Ratatouille, I can highly recommend it. It’s not the same vibe of movie as other Pixar films, but if you are a foodie, you’ll love it. It’s all about the creation of something great and new from the ingredients you find, whether that be culinary or from life in general.

In the movie, the final dish prepared is an amazing dish of ratatouille, a traditional French tomato-base stew with squash, zucchini, peppers and eggplant. Honestly, in the stew’s original form, I’m not crazy about it. But in the movie’s culinary consultant was the illustrious Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, and his version (technically called Confit Byaldi) was quite different. Instead of chopping all the ingredients into a stew, he spoons a bell pepper and tomato sauce into a flat dish and layers the veggies, cut into thin rounds, on the top. Cover and bake.

But, as most French recipes go, this recipe (although simple for a French cook) is a little bit much for even the Fancy Pants home cook. About a year ago, after a bit of searching, I found this simplified version here on Smitten Kitchen. This is what Morgan and I have made twice now, the second time with wonderful veggies from the farmers’ market.

My only variation from this recipe is that I use my homemade marinara sauce rather than just tomato pureé.

Photos from the first round, made last September:

Our first Ratatouille, before baking

Our first Ratatouille, before baking

The finished, baked product

The finished, baked product

This time, we made it a bit bigger (because it was so yummy) and added the last of the fairy tale eggplants. We had left eggplant out of the first because we really don’t care for it, but the small ones are not so bitter.

Veggies on the sauce

Veggies on the sauce

The final, baked product!

The final, baked product before plating

In the large photo above, you can see the final product. Next time I will take Keller’s advice and cook down all the extra liquid before plating. My sauce looks watery, but it sure was good!

Recipes coming from market foodies besides myself soon, as well as more profiles.

Filed Under: Main Course, Resources Tagged With: eggplants, fairy tale eggplants, farmers market, peppers, produce, ratatouille, squash, Thomas Keller, zucchini

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