What to Do with Patty Pan Squash

Here are some ideas of what to do with those adorable flower-shaped patty pan squash you receive each week:

You can of course chop them and include them in any dish you would normally use zucchini or yellow squash (all the summer squash are interchangeable in any recipe that calls for them).

Saute or Add Fresh to Quinoa, Brown Rice, or Pasta:

I like to dice mine in 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces (using the Vidalia Onion chopper is my favorite, actually my son's favorite, thing to do).  I then include them in quinoa, brown rice, or pasta dishes with some good extra virgin olive oil (Costco's garlic extra virgin olive oil is delicious! -- or Sigona's has some wonderful different varieties of olive oil also), other veggies (tomatoes, peppers, green onions, and/or zucchini or yellow squash), fresh herbs (basil, parsley, chives, and/or cilantro), salt and pepper, a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime, olives of your choice, and some feta or grated parmagiano reggiano cheese.

You don't even have to saute the veggies when they are cut this size -- just add them to warm brown rice, quinoa, or pasta and eat up.  Delicious!  You can also do this but use your favorite salad dressing and it's great too.

Baked Patty Pan Slices with Fresh Herbs:

You can also slice the patty pan (or any other summer squash) into 1/4 inch slices, drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 350 degrees until fork tender (15-30 min., depending on how many you use).  Toss with some chopped basil (or other fresh herbs) and eat up!

Baked Whole, Stuffed Patty Pan Squash:

Another option is to steam the patty pan squash whole in 1 inch of water for 10 min. or until the stem can be pierced by a fork with little resistance.  Then, cut the stem off and scoop out the squash (a melon baller works well).

You can then make a stuffing of your choice of flavor to add the reserved squash to, re-stuff the patty pan squash, and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 min. (again, depends on how many you do).  It makes a beautiful dish to serve guests.

For the stuffing, you can use a bacon, sauteed onion, bread crumb, parmesan cheese mixture with the reserved squash or experiment and find your own favorite.