PATTY PAN MAIN DISH
Patty Fact: This vegetable is one of the "three sisters" (corn, beans and squash) that the Native Americans grew as part of their staple diet. The type of white scallop squash that we grow is relative unchanged from the original wild version that was originally cultivated over 3000 years ago, possibly longer. Not only is it an heirloom, it is a piece of human history.
*This recipe is for one baked large (up to 1 lb) patty pan, used as a vegetarian main dish. Just multiply the recipe by however many you need to prepare. Use smaller pattys if using as side dish. If you can get them, the yellow or green patties make great looking dinner party food.
What you need:
1 large Patty Pan (Scallop) Squash
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C. chopped peppers, your choice sweet, red, green, hot or not
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or garlic oil to taste
Olive oil for sauteing the veggies.
1 Cup Cooked Brown (or any) Rice
1/4 C. Grated Cheese, your choice, but mild cheddar is good.
Salt and pepper
Preparation of the Patty Pan
Wash squash thoroughly. Slice a thin slice off the bottom to make the patty sit on a plate without wobbling (or you can turn the other way, depending on how your patty is shaped..be creative!). Take a sharp knife and remove the inside of the squash by piercing the shell and cutting in a circle (as if removing a core); you want to remove the entire inside of the squash, leaving enough thickness of the shell to create a "bowl" for your filling. Set the flesh aside. You can then take a spoon and scrape the inside of the scallops out if you choose. That leaves a bigger cavity to fill and you should adjust your recipe accordingly.
The Filling
Take the flesh that you removed from the squash and chop it finely or grate it. Finely chop some onion, green and/or red peppers. Saute the squash, peppers, and fresh garlic (optional) in olive oil until barely cooked, leave the onions and peppers crispy. Add 1 cup of cooked brown rice and stir throughly. Season this mixture any way you like. Simply salt and pepper is good, but try using dried herbs, seasoned peppers and salts, etc. This veg-rice mixture is very basic and a perfect way to create your own version. Stuff the hot mixture into your squash shell, wrap in foil and bake at 350 degrees until you can just stick a fork into the shell of the patty. Open the foil, sprinkle with grated cheese if you like, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted (just a bit, careful not to burn the cheese.) Serves one as a main dish.
Smaller squash can be stuffed as a side dish. Optional additions to the stuffing mixture include spinach, artichoke, green peas, grated carrots, the possibilities are pretty endless. You might even substitute an herbed stuffing for the rice. Also try using this recipe to stuff zucchini or marrow squash, even winter squash like acorn or butternut. As with many of my recipes, I urge you to be creative! The worst thing that can happen is that you make an inedible dish and you learn something from what you did wrong.
A Really Good Alternative Filling
For those of you who do not fear eating pasta (ergo carbs),here is an interesting alternative to this stuffing that I make using couscous. This delectable miniscule pasta is indigenous to North Africa, where it is traditionally made by hand by Berber women. (of course, here in the U.S. it is machine-made). Couscous (the pasta) is served with a stew that is also called a couscous. Not to be confused with a "cousa" (Recipe here). Whole wheat couscous is readily available and I even buy one that is made with sundried tomatoes, basil and carrot, and is tri-colored as a result. It is a good summer dish, for when you want something a little bit hearty, because it cooks so quickly you hardly have to heat the stove up. It is also great as a cold dish, such as tabbouleh (Recipe here http://theartfulomnivore.blogspot.com/2011/05/you-say-tabulleh-i-say-tabouli.html).
To make the couscous alternative, just follow the above recipe up to the part where you would add the brown rice. Instead, prepare whatever amount of couscous you need for the number of servings you are preparing (Directions and measures should be on the package.) Add about a tablespoon of a really good Indian curry powder (get the real deal, you will see a huge difference) and a little more water if your mixture gets a little dry after adding the curry, about a tablespoon at a time. Mix everything together and stuff back into the shell and complete cooking according to above recipe. Using a hot pepper with this version really spices it up. Just be sure you leave out the cheese....there is a reason why you never see cheese curry recipes.
