How to Prepare a Pattypan Squash
The most exciting things about growing your own food, from seed, is that you get to choose any crazy looking thing, you want to. We all know that heirloom tomatoes taste amazing. Not everyone realizes, that holds true for every heirloom vegetable. Melons, carrots, and even summer squash, have a richer, sweeter flavor, grown at home. Summer squash is not something I used to eat, growing up. So, I never really gravitated to them, at the grocery store. I was not sure what to do with them. Once I got hooked to heirloom seeds, I tried growing a few varieties of summer squash. I really only wanted the funny looking things. I thought they would have more flavor. So, I chose four. The Ronde de Nice is a white and green striped ball. The Lemon is the same color, size, and shape of a real lemon. The White Scallop is flat, and pastel green to white in color. The Yellow Pattypan, or Scallop squash, is by far, my favorite, in flavor. It is shaped like a flat, round, yellow flower.
These funny shapes, however, can be intimidating to cook with. They don't fit the same way a zucchini does. However, they are interchangeable in the same recipes. My favorite way to cook with the Yellow Scallop one, is to pick it small, cut it in half, so that you end up with two "flowers," and sauté it, cut side down, with eggs. Sprinkle it with a little cumin and pepper, instead of salt. It is one of my favorite breakfasts.
Your recipes don't need to end with breakfast. Grate any shape, of summer squash, into a zucchini bread, or brownie recipe. You'll get a slightly different repertoire of flavors, and added nutrition value, to class up any old favorite.
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