Pattypan Squash

I bought some pattypan squash at the farmer's market yesterday. I haven't made it too often, but I usually saute it with garlic and onion and put it over pasta.

What are your favorite ways to cook it?

[Jenise]

Growing up, patty pans were cooked with yellow crook neck until soft and mushy with just butter. It's a comfort food for me--the squash had usually been bought at a farm stand earlier in the day, and so had baskets of ripe, sweet tomatoes which were sliced and doused with oil, vinegar and salt. Sometimes cucumbers and onions were added. That was pretty much the meal. Nowaday I'll cut them in large slices and steam them lightly salted, but owing to this childhood attachment to one way of cooking I will admit I haven't gotten too creative with this wonderful vegetable.

Patty Pan is one of the beautiful, healthy plants I have in my garden that is huge, but producing only male flowers. What's up with that? I, like it lightly steamed with a little butter. There are so many beautiful squashes appearing at our Farmer's Market, huge, round ones that are both yellow and green. I like cutting those in thick slices, coating with chili powder and a squirt of lime, then grilling. another squirt of lime prior to serving and you have a treat.

Thank you both!

I love that it's a childhood comfort food for you Jenise. I'd never even seen them until a couple of years ago.

Karen how lucky to grow them. I have a deck right now and only can grow herbs these days.

Thank goodness for the farmer's market!

If you want a quirky variation, buy some Chayote. The flavor is quite similar.

I think my grandmother would slice, bread, and fry the patty pan squashes she grew in the Summer.

We have simply sliced and fried in butter and served with salt and pepper.

My Patty Pan squash has finally started producing, but it is very sneaky. We go out and look and see nothing....two days later, we have a huge veggie hanging off the vine. This morning I cut up three into chunks, along with fresh garlic and a torpedo onion. This was coated with EVOO,balsamic vinegar, Herbs de Provence, coarse salt and freshly gr. pepper and put into a baking pan covered with non-stick foil wrap. I will roast them in the oven tonight. I just went to the garden to pick some herbs for a whole turkey breast we are putting on the rotisserie and noticed another Patty Pan hanging outside the raised bed. I swear it was not there yesterday! The zucchini are kicking in, as well.....we have harvested three of them. This is an heirloom type and not very prolific. I love the huge black bees that frequent them. It has a few markings of brilliant gold on it, as well. We only see a few of this huge bee for a short time during the summer.