Summer Squash Gratin
This morning a friend emailed. So, she said, you haven’t updated the blog for a while.
Um, yeah. I know. Believe me when I say it wasn’t for lack of effort.
Anyway, here we are. And here is a post.
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Okay, so summer squash, which for today’s purposes encompasses zucchini. As I write, home gardeners–i.e., not me–are awash in summer squash. Read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle–specifically, the chapter entitled “Zucchini Larceny”–and you begin to understand the faint edge of panic creeping into gardening households, where summer squash are multiplying like so many vegetal rabbits.
When neighbors leave bags of zucchini hanging from Kingsolver’s mailbox, anonymous, completely unnecessary gifts, she is amazed by their ingenuity. Kingsolver then recalls Garrison Keillor’s joke about rural communities during harvest season: now is the only time they lock their car doors, hoping to protect themselves against further unwanted gifts of surplus squash.
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Today’s summer squash gratin was inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I’ve altered both the preparation and the ingredients, as a full cup of heavy cream in August seemed a bit much.
You can prepare this summer squash gratin two ways The first is quick and dirty (metaphorically speaking). Wash the vegetables, slice them any old way, toss all the ingredients into a buttered gratin dish, and bake. The resulting gratin will be all right, especially if you add enough cheese, but…that’s all it will be.
The second preparation method requires more time and more effort but gives a better result. Summer squash gratin is not a difficult dish to prepare, but like any recipe-except maybe microwaved stuff–a little extra effort goes a long way.
Both Marcella Hazan and Gabrielle Hamilton say summer squash is an especially gritty, dirty vegetable. It therefore must be soaked in cold water for at least 20 minutes to expel said dirt. Who knew?
Summer squash is a watery vegetable to begin with. Now we’ve just added more. Which we must expunge.
To this end, the squash must be grated or finely cut. You can do this one of three ways: use a food processor, a box grater, or a sharp knife.
However you go about it, toss your grated or sliced squash into a colander. I opted for door number three because 1. I loathe box graters, and 2. it entails the least washing up. Toss the sliced squash into a colander with a teaspoon of salt.
While the squash drains, butter your gratin pan. Chop your onion and garlic. Now melt some butter in a saute pan. Brown the the onion and garlic.
Tip the onion/garlic mixture into the gratin dish and smooth it with the spatula to evenly cover the bottom of the dish.
Remember I am married to a person who hates onions. By all means use more onion than I have.
Now take a clean, non-linting dishtowel, and wrap the squash in it. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the squash. Be sure your chosen dishtowel is free of holes. Otherwise bits of squash will go everywhere, making a sticky mess. Ask me how I know. (not pictured.)
Tip the squash into the oniony saute pan and brown. You may need to brown the squash in relays. Like spinach, it will cook down amazingly. Once the squash is browned, spread it atop the onions and garlic.
Incidentally, there is an Italian term for what we’re doing. It’s called insaporire. Literally translated, it means “bestowing taste.” According to Marcella Hazan, whose indispensable Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking I consulted in developing this post, insaporire is the difference between a good dish and a dull one. It means taking the time to carefully brown or saute foods–especially vegetables–to create a flavor base that ultimately contributes to the finished dish.
Back to the stove.
Add the seasonings. I used a mixture of fresh and dried seasonings in my summer squash gratin. Below, Aleppo pepper and oregano.
At this juncture, you can drizzle the gratin with olive oil and bake it. Or you can add the final three gratin ingredients.
Beautiful smoked paprika.
Add the cheddar cheese. You might notice the cheese is pared rather than grated. Using a vegetable parer is far easier for me than grating. If you are a carpal-tunnel sufferer, give it a try.
Scatter panko over the gratin. Or go all out and use real bread crumbs.
Finally, tip in the dairy of choice. I used half-and-half, pouring from a measuring cup until the level reached about three-quarters of the way up the dish. This was about 3/4 of a cup, or 170 ml.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the gratin is browned and bubbling.
Serve summer squash gratin as a main dish with a green salad, or as side with chicken, pork, or other vegetable dishes. At this time of year, a tomato salad is also delicious with squash gratin.
A final note: any leftover gratin makes a wonderful sandwich between two pieces of good white bread, slathered with Kewpie mayo. Thinly sliced tomato and a little sweet onion make delicious additions.
Summer Squash Gratin
Inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart Living Magazine
As always, please read the notes, below, for a discussion of ingredient substitutions and variations.
Yield: One pound of summer squash (454 grams) yields a gratin feeding 2-3 people, depending on what else is being served. The dish may be scaled upward.
Prep time: 10 minutes soaking time, 20 minutes draining time, 40 minutes baking time.
You will need a large bowl to soak the squash. For shredding or finely slicing the squash, you will need either a food processor with a grating attachment, a box grater, or a sharp knife. You will also need a colander, a saute pan, and a shallow ovenproof baking dish to bake the gratin.
Approximately 1-2 pounds/454-900 grams summer squash, any type
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter
Thyme: very scant half- teaspoon if fresh, one teaspoon if dried
Parsley: one tablespoon, fresh, omit otherwise
Black pepper: one teaspoon
dried oregano: one teaspoon
pinch cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
3/4-1 cup/170ml-250 grams Cheddar cheese, grated
3/4-1 cup/170ml-250ml half-and-half (or other dairy of choice; see notes)
Scant 1/2 cup/120 grams Panko
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C
Fill a large bowl with cool water. Soak the squash for 10-20 minutes.
While the squash soaks, peel and chop the onion and garlic. Set a large saute pan out. One tablespoon of butter will be melted in this pan shortly. Use the other tablespoon of butter to grease the gratin dish.
Dry the squash well. Leave the peel on if you’re confident it isn’t covered in pesticides. Otherwise, peel it. Shred or finely slice the squash using a food processor with a grating attachment, a handheld box grater, or a large knife.
Place a colander in the sink. Toss the shredded/sliced squash in the colander. Mix 1 teaspoon salt with your clean hands, and allow the squash to drain for 10-20 minutes.
While the squash drains, melt the butter in the saute pan. Over medium heat, brown the onion and garlic. You want to add color and flavor. This should take about 8 minutes. You aren’t looking to cook the alliums to a deep mahogany brown.
Once the alliums take color, tip them into the gratin dish, spreading them evenly across the pan.
Fold the squash into a clean, non-linting dishcloth and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Make sure your dishtowel is intact; mine had holes, and made a big mess.
Now brown the summer squash. There is no need to clean the pan. You may need to brown in relays, but rest assured the squash will cook down. As it browns, add it to the gratin dish, spreading it out evenly. I did not need to add more butter to my pan, but if you do, feel free.
Once all the squash has been browned and added to the gratin pan, add the seasonings, being sure to scatter as evenly as possible across the pan.
As noted in the post, you can drizzle olive oil over the gratin at this point and bake it. Or you can add the final ingredients.
Scatter the cheese and panko over the gratin. Pour in the dairy. It should come almost to the top of the gratin. Place the gratin dish on a baking sheet and slide it into the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the dish is browned, bubbling, looks and smells done. Not sure? Remove the gratin from the oven, place it on a wooden board, and take a tiny taste.
Serve summer squash gratin as a main course with salad and bread, or alongside poultry, pork, or as part of a vegetarian spread.
Leftover summer squash gratin will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to four days. To freeze summer squash gratin, place in freezer-safe dish or dishes. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then cover tightly with tinfoil and freeze, unbaked, up to three months. When you wish to eat the gratin, transfer baking dish or dishes directly from the freezer to the oven and bake.
Finally, as noted above, leftover gratin makes a terrific sandwich, with or without tomato. Try it with good white bread and a smear of Kewpie mayo.
Notes
Summer squash gratin is best prepared by what the French call au pif--by the nose. Meaning it is difficult to offer exact measurements. Only you know what type of squash you’re using, and how large they are. Only you can decide how much cheese your gratin requires, or how much panko is best. Treat my recipe as a blueprint. That’s all it really is.
Instead of the heavy cream used in the original recipe–that’s double cream to our British friends–I used half-and-half–which is half milk and half cream. You are welcome to substitute another dairy product, broth, or nut milk.
If you want to use a different cheese, aim for a cheese that complements the squash without overwhelming it. Squash is delicious, but it is bland. Cheddar gives the gratin a necessary lift. So keep that in mind.
My husband is not fond of onion. I used a small onion from the farmer’s market. Use whatever you like: scallion, shallot, white onions. All will work, in much larger quantities.
Alter the seasoning as you wish, but season carefully. Take care when using fresh thyme, as it can take over.
In memory of Carla Tomasi, the vegetable whisperer
