Pattypan ideas

[makeamix41]

I've got a problem with pattypans. My husband has grown lots of them and we totally don't know what to do with them. Of course, I marinated some but what else I can do with them? We are growing squash pattypans from seeds we usually buy on https://www.thegreenlivingforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=113354 - they sprout quite long but are really tasty! Hope you have some ideas or I will just give them to my family and friends! :)

[ElsieD]

This is a timely post.  I got some in my CSA this week and don't know what to do with them either.  However, I did some googling and got some suggestions.  I ended up deciding that I would cut them into 1" chunks, remove the seeds, toss them with olive oil, salt & pepper and roast them.  I'll post the results.

[shain]

I only ever had them pickled, which I adore.

I'll assume they will be great grilled or roasted, maybe in a salad or with pasta.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Years ago Sunset Magazine published a recipe for "creamed pattipan" that I use for all manner of summer squash.    Essentially, grate, salt and drain in a strainer.   Rinse and squeeze dry.    Saute in butter, add some sour cream mixed with a little flour.    Cook until mixture is thickened and flour is cooked.

 

Or,  mix the squeezed dry pattipan with a beaten egg, minced garlic and onion, spoon of flour or breadcrumbs and fry as "cakes".

 

Or, as suggested above, split in half, dredge in EVOO, salt and cracked pepper and grill.   

[heidih]

Good ideas.  They are adorable stuffed and baked when not long in the tooth. As I have mentioned before, let a few get oversize and more like a winter squash. Great for Halloween decor or hollowed out and used as a serving vessel.  They look like they are pottery not plant. 

[ElsieD]

We did not care for the squash.  I'm hoping to not get any more.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

31 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

We did not care for the squash.  I'm hoping to not get any more.

Hey, they’re a veg!   But I fall back on my mantra that there’s a cook/peasant mama out there who knows how to make it sing.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[heidih]

4 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Hey, they’re a veg!   But I fall back on my mantra that there’s a cook/peasant mama out there who knows how to make it sing.

 

 

Or have a hungry family snarf it up. I don't like mushy but braised works too. The once I grew them I was just entranced with the color and scalloped edges. As I recall their flowers did not rival zucchini at all.

[ElsieD]

35 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Hey, they’re a veg!   But I fall back on my mantra that there’s a cook/peasant mama out there who knows how to make it sing.

 

 

There probably is, but I'm not one of them.

[dtremit]

I like all manner of summer squash as a substitute in Indian recipes that call for lauki or bottle gourd -- the squash is different, but the flavors still seem to be complimentary.

 

The last one I made was from Priya Krishna's Indian-ish — cumin seeds and turmeric (and I think asafoetida?) sauteed in ghee, then the squash and some tomatoes, simmered, covered, until tender. Finished with lime (and cilantro, if your partner doesn't hate it). (ETA: this one really transforms the flavor of the squash, IMHO.)

 

I also really like using it in korean pancakes -- I can't figure out exactly which recipe I used for the batter but your favorite will do. Key is to cut the squash, salt them, let them sit, and drain so the liquid doesn't make the pancake soggy. That, and lots of onions.

Edited August 24, 2020 by dtremit (log)

[chromedome]

Well, if you're harvesting them at the right size (no more than 2 inches' diameter, max) you don't need to worry about the seeds. Just treat them like any other summer squash, and prepare them accordingly. I often cut off the top, scoop a hollow, and then stuff them with either a meat, grain or cheese filling (roast or braise them once you're done).

I've just harvested my very first (it was a mid-summer planting) and will be inundated shortly.

 

[weinoo]

10 hours ago, ElsieD said:

We did not care for the squash.  I'm hoping to not get any more.

First cousin to zucchini - two of the more tasteless squashes.

[ElsieD]

4 hours ago, weinoo said:

First cousin to zucchini - two of the more tasteless squashes.

 

Exactly right.

[chromedome]

...but by the same token, if you buy/use zucchini or other summer squashes, you can use pattypans in the same ways.

 

Just bear in mind that anything from the size of a tennis ball on up is the pattypan equivalent of a leg-sized zucchini. You *can* seed them, shred them and use them for baking or whatnot if you're seriously averse to waste, but they're better just composted.

[heidih]

5 minutes ago, chromedome said:

...but by the same token, if you buy/use zucchini or other summer squashes, you can use pattypans in the same ways.

 

Just bear in mind that anything from the size of a tennis ball on up is the pattypan equivalent of a leg-sized zucchini. You *can* seed them, shred them and use them for baking or whatnot if you're seriously averse to waste, but they're better just composted.

 

 

Oh I had the bright idea once and used a bigger one in a sweet strudel = ZERO taste. The problem with composting is that, like pumpkins, you'll walk out one morning and find they have grown up all over it. My neighbor grew pumpkins with his science students one year and I took the leftovers. Chucked them onto part of the front lot "smashing pumpkins style" and they took off once we had some rain. Can't keep a good squash down. And they re not sweet like pumpkins so the squirrels ignore them.

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

..but by the same token, if you buy/use zucchini or other summer squashes, you can use pattypans in the same ways.

 

Pattypans, are just prettypans. It's all about looks.

 

dcarch

 

SV oxtails with pattypans from my garden

Edited August 24, 2020 by dcarch (log)

[jmacnaughtan]

They're acceptable as decorations, and possibly gifts to your more forgettable colleagues.

[Katie Meadow]

Forgive me. I don't have any enlightened ways to deal with pattypan squash. The name is cute, though. Here's my pathetic contribution, having cooked them maybe once in my life: they don't deserve their own thread. They should be lumped in with all summer squash. Zucchini may have a case for its own thread, but only because most of us actually remember what it looks like and because the fried flowers have a certain panache. Plus zucchini is available all year round, whereas many "summer squashes" are more local and more seasonal. Yeah, don't tell me I'm cranky, I already know. The air here in the Bay Area is so foul from smoke that I can't decide whether to stop breathing or just give up and buy some marshmallows and graham crackers. On the positive side, I already have plenty of chocolate.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I know that baby vegetables have a bad rap, "so '80s, infanticide, done that", but baby summer squash, even pattypans are good eating.   Again, split and flash grill/fry/blister, shower with Maldon salt, pop in mouth, enjoy.