@ehBeth,
Quote:do you successfully use squash interchangeably with pumpkin? I don't always find the recipes meant for pumpkin work well with squash. What is your finding?
I had to do a bit of Googling, Beth, to make sure I properly understood what is meant by "squash" in your neck of the woods.
Ah. I see that in northern America you refer to "winter squash" (which we call
pumpkins) & "summer squash" (which in my neck of the woods would be mostly zucchini &
marrow , which are the big, sometimes jumbo, varieties of zucchini) & these little critters, which are generally sold yellow (not green, as in the photograph):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_%28plant%29
It certainly looks like there are a lot more varieties of summer squash to choose from in the US & Canada than are available in the shops here.
But in answer to your question, nope, I wouldn't use summer & winter squash in similar recipes (like roast pumpkin). I don't think I've ever roasted summer squash. I suspect they'd turn to mush, as they require so little cooking time.
Mostly I use zucchini, about this size & a bit larger:
How do I cook it?: Mostly in combination with other ingredients, like in a frittata, soups, or a ratatouille, something like this:
Quote:Ratatouille, (pronounced rat-a-too-ee) is a classic southern French vegetarian dish that can be served as an accompaniment or a stand alone dish. It is a good recipe to use up the shriveled vegetable in the bottom of the fridge, which is exactly what I have done in the following recipe with step by step pics.
Southern France ratatouille recipe ingredients
Ingredients
1 Zuchini
1 Eggplant (aubergine)
1 Capsicum
½ Brown onion
1 Garlic clove
2 Tomatoes
15ml (½ floz) Oil
Salt and pepper
char grilled capsicum pimento pepper
Method
Halve and deseed the capsicum, then cut it into flat sections. I have used a number of dwarf capsicums from my garden.
Char the skin side of the capsicum slices directly on a hot electric element or over a gas flame. This imparts a smoky char grilled flavour and aroma.
Cut the zucchini and eggplant into thick slices and sear them the same way as the capsicum.
fried onion garlic capsicum pimento
Gently fry the sliced onion in the oil.
Add the garlic and the sliced and charred capsicum.
Add the diced tomato and stir together.
Add the zucchini and eggplant and simmer.
pan fried vegetarian ratatouille recipe
If the pan is too dry add a ¼ cup of water.
When the zucchini and eggplant are softened, the ratatouille is ready to serve as a yummy vegetable accompaniment.
Alternatively, place the ratatouille in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs (optional) and bake for five minutes in a hot oven.
http://www.rawfish.com.au/french-ratatouille-vegetarian-recipe/
(I'd probably use more garlic than suggested in the recipe, but then, I use more qarlic in just about
everything!
)
But I'd rarely use zucchini as "the star ingredient" in any dish. (And I haven't taken to stuffing & cooking zucchini
flowers, though i understand they are supposed to be quite delectable . But life it too short to spend so much time on this sort of thing!
)
But anyway, Beth (& anyone else who cares to share), what are your tried & true recipe ideas for summer squash?
Lots of zucchini at the greengrocer's right now. It'd be good to have some fresh recipe ideas.
