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Two ideas for too much squash

Bright yellow squash is hard to resist at the farmers market, but I find when I get it home the depth of my squash repertoire is shallow indeed. Protests from my family recently made me halt my fallback: sautéed with thin slices of yellow onion. What next, then? I wasn’t in the mood for squash soup, and a casserole, while retro and fun, sounded awful in this heat. The basket of squash was finally put to work in two contrasting ways, and the results were definitely worth repeating.

Panko-crusted yellow squash

Fill the bottom of a medium skillet with vegetable or olive oil and heat to medium. As its heating, combine one cup Panko breadcrumbs, half cup corn meal, and 1 teaspoon salt and spread on a plate. Combine a cup of milk and a beaten egg in a bowl. Slice squash into discs, soak in wet batter, then dredge in dry batter, careful to coat evenly. Fry until slightly brown on each side, turning once.

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Tangy Squash Pickles

(Modified from Nancie McDermott’s Tangy Cucumber Pickles in her Quick & Easy Thai)

Half cup white vinegar

Half cup water

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Half cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

6 small yellow squash

In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar and salt dissolve, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let the dressing cool to room temperature.

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Slice squash into quarter-inch thick disks and place in a plastic container or bowl. Cover with dressing and refrigerate overnight. The result is tangy and crunchy — a terrific accompaniment to grilled meats.