Recipe Mash-Up Stuffed Pattypan Squash
This week I did, for lack of a better word, a recipe mash-up. I bought new patty pan squash at the store and decided to stuff them with almost the same filling that I did for the tomatoes. Well, with one exception – I took out the olives and added cheese. Because I love cheese.
3 large-ish pattypan squash
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1-2 ounces fontina cheese, grated
handful of toasted pine nuts
salt
Trim the top and bottom of the squash. Then use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the squash. Brush the squash with olive oil and bake at 375 in the oven for about 15 minutes. While the squash are in the oven, sautee the onions and garlic in a little olive oil (just a little, I always use slightly too much). In a bowl, combine with the bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, and pine nuts. Stuff the filling into the squash and return till they are fully cooked, around 30 minutes.
This recipe was good, but, and here’s an odd but, I really liked just eating the stuffing by itself more than I enjoyed eating it in the pattypan squash. I think partially this is because I didn’t cook the squash long enough – I thought it was done, but I might have just been inpatient. The other reason was, well, the filling was just super good. I really enjoyed eating it and kinda just want to find a way to have it without bothering to stick it in a vegetable. I’ll let you know if I figure out a good method for that in the future. But it is a good summer recipe regardless, and a fun one to try if you are interested in pattypan squash. Song of the week: Here Comes a Thought from Steven Universe. I heard of this TV show a couple weeks ago on NPR, started watching, and immediately got hooked. It is amazing. This song (there are lots of songs in the show) is also just so incredible, from an amazing episode dealing with trauma and how to cope with it in a healthy way. And yeah, this is an animated kids show.
Stuffed Tomatoes
There is one thing I hate about living in DC (besides the weather) – the tomatoes are just bad here. I know I grew up spoiled eating tomatoes growing in my backyard, but still. Disappointing. But baking the tomatoes or sticking them in dishes works fairly well, and I wanted to make Ottolenghi’s Herb-Stuffed Tomatoes recipe ever since I saw the picture. So this week I did, adjusting the recipe based on my fridge as always.
3 tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
6 chopped kalamata olives
handful of toasted pine nuts
salt
parmesan for serving (optional)
Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and using a spoon, clear out the middle part of them. Lightly salt the insides of the tomatoes and turn them upside down so the juice comes out. Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic until the onion is transparent and fragrant. Add the bread crumbs, parsley, olives, and pine nuts and mix them in. Take the filling and use it to stuff the tomatoes. Bake at 325 for 3o minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Sprinkle on parmensan if you want and serve.
I really liked this recipe. It was pretty simple and tasty and hey, if you don’t add the cheese it’s even vegan! It’s not a wow of a recipe, but it’s good. I actually thought it tasted better when I had it as leftovers the next day for lunch. My only warning is that the tomatoes kept tipping over on the pan, which was slightly messy and worrisome. Definitely pair with dry white wine – anything else would be overpowering. Song of the Week: Good as Hell by Lizzo. I heard this song a couple weeks ago on the amazing podcast Soooo Many White Guys, and have been in love with it ever since. It just makes you feel better and more awesome. Also, the background on the chorus. If you can, watch the video too cause it’s also friggin awesome ode to black female beauty.
Eggs in Pattypan Squash
Pattypan squash is such a funny vegetable. It’s like a scalloped flying saucer. I’ve wanted to learn how to cook them for a while, but had no idea how to approach it – and honestly, chopping it into pieces seemed like a waste of their cool shape. But then I found this recipe for Eggs Baked in Pattypan Squash and it seemed like a good thing to try.
3 pattypan squash
2 or 3 eggs
1/3 onion, diced
2 smallish or 1 large clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 pinches dried thyme
salt
olive oil
Trim the ends of the pattypan squash. Then take a spoon and hollow out the middle of the squash, leaving at least 1/4 of an inch of flesh/rind all around. Brush with olive oil and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. While the squash are baking, saute the onion in some olive oil. After a few minutes add the garlic and then the thyme. Once the onion is soft, remove from heat. Into the little pattypan squash holes, scoop in some of the onion mixture. Then crack an egg and slip it into the hole as well. Carefully return it to the oven and bake until the eggs are set/as done as you want them – about 15 minutes.
I really liked this recipe. The only problem I had with it was the the pattypan squash were too small for a whole egg to go in there! There was some spillage into the baking pan. This was touted (and would make) a great brunch dish, but I had it with salad and wine as a light dinner and that worked well. So this I think was a great, simple introductory recipe to such a funny-looking veggie. Song of the Week: Sit Down John, from 1776. Long before there was Hamilton, there was another surprise Broadway hit about the Revolutionary War – 1776 which focused on the Continental Congress declaring American independence. I have been obsessed with this musical since I was 5 and listen to the soundtrack every 4th of July.
Rhubarb Tarte Tatin
I decided to cook another dessert with rhubarb this week, although not one of the several I’ve made before (although the Strawberry-Rhubarb dessert crepes are still amazing). So I was going through a list of a bunch of different rhubarb recipes on Saveur’s website and I came across this one for Rhubarb Tarte Tatin. I made very few adjustments, mostly just made it smaller so it would be 3-4 servings in an 8 inch pan.
3 large-ish stalks of rhubarb, chopped into maybe one-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
juice from 1/2 of a small lemon (like a tablespoon)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
Melt the butter in an 8-inch, oven-safe pan. Once the butter has melted, add all the other ingredients and stir so that everything is combined and the rhubarb are coated. Keep cooking on medium, stirring every few minutes until the sugar has melted and the rhubarb is soft (I couldn’t tell if they were caramelizing, so I stopped when they were all soft). About 10 minutes. Make the topping while the rhubarb is cooking (or before hand)
Topping
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
7 tablespoons butter
1/4-1/3 cup milk
1 egg
pinch of salt
Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it is mostly incorporated and there are only a few little lumps. Add the egg and 1/4 cup milk. Add more milk, a little at a time, if you need to to for a soft, sticky dough. Once the rhubarb is done cooking, take the dough and flatten it out, not too thick, (I just used my hands, too sticky for a rolling pin) and cover the rhubarb. There is a little more dough than needed for the pan so I just baked the leftovers like a scone, which totally worked. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes ish or until the crust is golden brown. Flip it onto a plate and let it cool before serving.
Omg, this was freaking delicious. I dunno how, but the topping stayed soft, cake-like and didn’t dry out two days later. Just the right amount of sweet with a hint of tart. Seriously, this is a 10. Go buy rhubarb and make it now. Song of the week: Counting Stars by OneRepublic. I’ve always really liked this song, and I finally got around to buying it on iTunes this week. It’s just such a solidly good song.
Odd and Ends Quiche
So awhile back I made a recipe that I called an “odds and ends” casserole, which was basically a way to make a decent casserole with a couple basic things and whatever is in your fridge. This is basically the same thing, but in the form of a quiche. In principle, it’s “roast a bunch of veggies, sautee an onion, and stick them in a pie crust with some cheese, milk and eggs.” And done. Here’s the basic recipe that I made, but again, you can modify the veggies or cheese based on what you like/have in your fridge.
Ingredients
1 Pie crust
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1/2 zucchini, chopped in large chunks
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 leek, thinly sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 egg
1/2-3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1-2 ounces shredded hard, strong cheese
dried thyme
salt/pepper/olive oil
Toss the bell pepper in some olive oil and salt and stick it in the oven at 400. After 10 minutes, add the zucchini. Stir every 10 minutes or so, and pull them out when they are at the desired level of roasted – probably like 25-30 minutes. While the veggies are roasting, heat oil in a large pan and sautee the onions, until translucent. Add the leeks and keep sautéing at a lower heat until the onions are golden brown, or, if you’re impatient, at least very soft. The longer everything cooks, the sweeter it will be. Once the veggies are done, stick a layer of onions in a pie-crust-lined dish. Then the layer of roasted veggies. Then dot the veggies with teaspoons of the ricotta and the tomatoes. Scatter the hard cheese over it. Beat the egg and milk together, and pour in the dish. Bake at 375 for 30-ish minutes.
So I really liked this recipe. Particularly, I liked that it was a ton of veggies, and not a lot of egg and milk, and that the veggies were sweet. And that it’s versatile. However, the thing I didn’t love was that moving the onions and veggies from the pan into the pie plate also involved getting a lot of olive oil in there. Which…made the bottom crust soggy. I didn’t mind it for me (in fact I’ve eaten the quiche almost every day this week), but I’d be mortified to serve it to someone like that. So, beware of too much liquid! But really, it’s made a great lunch, and also a great breakfast. Song of the week:Sorry by Postmodern Jukebox. Yes! the re-emergence of Postmodern Jukebox, which I still love. No real reason for this song, other than nothing stuck me this week and I happen to be listening to it right now.
