Summer Squash

Summer Squash Recipes

 

Availability: August-September

Storage tips: Refrigerate by wrapping paper towels around the fruits and storing in the crisper drawer or store at room temperature for short term.

How to eat: Summer Squashes are best eaten at a small to medium stage and very fresh. The best way to cook them is to slice them on the round (or also quartered if too wide) and sauté them gently in butter 5-10 minutes until soft and top with grated parmesan cheese and salt and pepper. They are also great raw with dips or put into vegetable soups.

How to preserve:  Frozen!  You can either cut your squash into rounds and blanch it for 2-3 minutes, cool, and freeze in freezer bags.  I use this it that way in soups in the winter.

OR you can grate it raw and freeze it that way in freezer bags.  Take it out of the freezer to make zucchini bread or pizza crust!

Chard and Summer Squash Frittata

2+ TBLS cooking oil
½ lb summer squash, thinly sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ lb Swiss chard, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced (to taste)
7-8 eggs
chopped basil
salt, pepper, grated cheese to taste

Sauté squash & onion in oil until softening 3-5 min. Add chard & garlic.  Cover & cook on medium-low until wilted & tender. Cool & drain well.  Whisk eggs, basil, cheese, salt, & pepper together. Add veggies & stir. Heat oiled skillet. Pour in egg mixture and cook 3-5 minutes.  Place in 400* oven until cooked through.

Coconut Curry Summer Squash Soup

Don't skip the lime juice in this!  It makes it!

  • Cooking oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 TSP curry powder, or to taste
  • 1.5-2 pounds summer squash, chopped
  • 1 qt.+ chicken, vegetable, etc. broth
  • Coconut milk, to taste
  • Juice of ½ lime, or to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Basil, chopped, for garnish

Saute onion until translucent in oil. Add garlic, curry powder and summer squash, sauté 2 mins. Add broth and simmer until squash is tender. Puree. Add lime juice, salt, pepper, coconut milk, and check seasonings. Top with basil in each bowl.
 

Freezing Summer Squash

Summer squash freezes nicely and is a great addition to winter soups.  There are two ways to freeze summer squash.  You can either freeze it in slices or in a precooked puree. 

To freeze in slices:  Wash, slice and blanch 3 minutes.  Cool, drain, and pack into freezer containers or plastic bags.  Seal and freeze.

To freeze as puree: Wash, slice and cook in a small amount of water until just tender.  Mash in bowl, set bowl in ice water to chill.  Pack into freezer containers or plastic bags.  Seal and freeze.

Grated Sautéed Zucchini/Summer Squash
  • 6 cups summer squash, grated
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons minced onion/shallot/scallion
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Mix grated squash with 2 tsp salt and let sit to drain in a colander for 5 mins. Squeeze out juice in clean kitchen towel. Heat olive oil and butter in skillet. Saute onion for 1 min. Add squash and cook until tender, about 4-5 min, stirring.

Optional: add garlic, basil, and tomatoes at the end or add cream and simmer until absorbed.

Sara’s Summer Squash Pie/Frittata

Our employee Sara is an innovator in the kitchen and we love her for it!  Here is yet another one of her creations that is so good that you'll wish you made two of them.  As mentioned below, use less eggs for more of a "pie" and more for a "frittata".  Either way it is so good!  Enjoy!

2 medium summer squash, thinly sliced
½ to 1 onion diced
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
butter
basil, to taste, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3-8 eggs, beaten (less for “pie,” more for “frittata”)
grated cheese (parmesan or cheddar)

In an oven safe skillet, sauté the summer squash, onion, and garlic in butter until softened.  Add basil and salt and pepper and sauté for 30 seconds.  Make sure to add extra butter to skillet bottom and sides to prevent sticking.  Add eggs.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 375 until set.  Yum!

Sauteed Summer Squash and Tomatoes

This recipe was contributed by a CSA member who says that it is what got her daughters loving squash.  Try it!

  • 2 TBLS oil or butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 lb. zucchini and/or summer squash, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1/2-1 cup tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1-2 TBLS basil or parsley, chopped
  • Lemon juice, to taste

Heat oil in a skillet on medium. Add zuke/summer squash, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lightly toss and sauté for 3-5+ minutes. Add fresh herb and lemon juice. Serve hot!

*Cooking time is flexible depending on taste. Prevent over-cooking it to keep the squash a little crunchy, or to taste.
 

Sauteed Summer Squash with Cheese

2 Tbls butter or oil
1 pound summer squash, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
½-1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, parmesan, etc.)
Sour cream
Salt and pepper

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the summer squash in a single layer (you may need to do two batches), and cook for two to three minutes on each side until lightly browned and tender. Remove to a plate. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with the grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Serve immediately.

Summer Squash Casserole

While this is a great side dish as is, I added 2 pounds of ground beef to this recipe to make it a full meal and it was very yummy!

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 1/2 pounds summer squash or zucchini, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup saltine crackers, crumbled (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  In large skillet, cook onion for 5 minutes, stirring.  Add summer squash and red pepper and salt and cook stirring until tender about 10 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cayenne pepper.  Sprinkle flour over veggies and mix.  Add milk, cream and parmesan and remove from heat.  Put into casserole, top with crackers and more cheese, and bake until bubbling, about 20-30 minutes.

Summer Squash Frittata

1-1.5 lb. summer squash, grated
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
8-10 eggs
2 oz goat cheese (or other soft cheese)
¼ cup green onion tops, minced (or fresh herb like dill or basil)

Sauté summer squash in oil over medium heat in oven-safe skillet.  Add garlic, salt and pepper and cook until wilted.  Whisk eggs, cheese, and herb together.  Add squash.  Cover and cook on medium low in skillet until top is set.  Broil to brown top (2-3 min) and serve cold or hot.

Summer Squash with Basil and Garlic

4 small summer squashs, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium-high in skillet.  Add summer squash and saute quickly, stirring until becomming tender, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic for 30 seconds, stirring.  Remove from heat, top with basil, salt and pepper and serve immediately.
 

Summer Squash, Basil, and Tomato “Slop”

I make this during the glut of squash, tomatoes, and basil.  Its so easy and delicious, stores well in the fridge as leftovers and goes well with practically everything!  We like it over scrambled eggs, rice, pasta, fish, etc!

2-4 TBLS butter or oil
1 bunch scallions (or 1 onion), chopped
1-2 pounds summer squash, chopped
1-2 lg. tomatoes (depending on juiciness desired)
1 large handful basil, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, mashed (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in large skillet on medium.  Add scallions and sauté until softened, not browned, about 5 min.  Add the remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and simmer covered until tender, about 20 min.  Remove lid to boil off unwanted liquid.

Summer Vegetable Strata
  • 1 lb. summer squash/zuke, grated
  • 1-2 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, shredded
  • 8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
  • Parsley, chopped, to taste
  • 10 eggs, beaten
  • 2.5 cups milk
  • Salt to taste
  • 13 oz bread, cubed

Mix everything together and pour into buttered 9x13” dish. Bake at 350 covered with foil for 20 min. Remove foil and bake until set, 50-60 min+.

Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole

This is just a blueprint for a yummy casserole.  You can use many other veggies in this and other meats/proteins.  You can also leave off anything you don't have and it will still be good!  I've made it with green sauce (from tomatillos) instead of the red sauce and it was also really good!

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, or other cooking oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1bell pepper, diced
  • 2 zucchini or summer squash, diced
  • 1 ear of corn, cut off of cob (or use canned)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups beans, cooked (or sub gr. beef)
  • Fresh herb, like cilantro, parsley, basil (optional)
  • 3 cups enchilada sauce, homemade or canned
  • 8 oz cheese, grated (or more if preferred)

Heat oil and sautéonion and bell pepper 5 min. Add squash and cook another 3 min. Add corn, garlic, and herbs. Cook 1 min stirring. Remove from heat. Add beans. Spread ¾cup sauce in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cover with 1 layer tortillas. Add layer of veggies, then cheese, then sauce. Repeat until ingredients are used up finishing up with cheese on top.

Zucchini/Summer Squash Pancakes
  • 2 packed cups grated summer squash,
  • squeezed of excess liquid
  • ½ cup onion, finely chopped or grated
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 6-8 TBLS flour (your choice)
  • ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
  • Cooking oil

Combine all ingredients into thick batter.  Heat oil in large skillet. Flatten tablespoons of batter into skillet and cook about 2 min per side until golden brown. Serve warm.