A few people asked about the recipe for squash casserole I mentioned a few times on facebook. This recipe is adapted from another recipe (see below), but I tweaked it a bit after making it the first time to cut some of the extra fat and to obtain a firmer, less soggy result. Don't get me wrong...it tasted great making it just as printed, but I found that leaving out some of the extra fat it called for didn't affect its taste and gave a firmer texture.
Summer Squash Casserole
adapted from "Summer Squash Casserole with Nuts" by Paula on allrecipes.com
8 servings
Ingredients
1 pound summer squash, sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon milk
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
4 ounces sliced pancetta, cooked & drained (blot off any extra fat)-optional
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon butter
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add squash, and cook until tender. Drain well.
3. Place squash in a large mixing bowl. Mash well. If there seems to be a lot of extra liquid, drain some off so you won't end up with a soggy result. Mix bell pepper, sugar, onion, egg, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, cheese, nuts, and pancetta (optional) to the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs. Dot with the butter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes.
5. Allow casserole to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
I've also made this recipe with bacon instead of pancetta, but the result was not tasty. For some reason, the bacon got rubbery during the baking of the casserole, but the pancetta didn't. Once when we were out of pecans, I used walnuts which turned out pretty good.
When you cut up the squash to cook it, you can scrape out the seeds or leave them in. I've made this both ways. If you leave the seeds in, you'll end up with more liquid when you mash the squash, but you can just drain some of it off. I usually leave the seeds in unless they are really large and tough.
How do you think this would work with winter squash?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of winter squash were you thinking? I think it would depend on the texture of the cooked squash. It needs to maintain some of its structure when cooked instead of becoming more like potatoes when you mash them. I think the pecans and breadcrumbs in the casserole give it a fall-like feel to me.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to making this :)
ReplyDelete