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Braised Squash

There are many varieties of squash available through summer and into autumn. I’m not sure exactly what weird and wonderful shapes and colours you have this week, but the same general principles hold. They are an excellent foil to other flavours, particularly as they stand up to various methods of cooking, including baking, grilling and steaming. As the weather is going to be excellent this weekend, consider doing them on the bbq – cut into wedges and coat in the spice/herb/oil mix of your choice. Grill the cut sides for a few minutes each until browned and then turn onto the skin for a bit longer – until cooked through. Try a mix of oil, garlic, lemon and cumin (or garam masala) or oil, crushed caraway seed and orange juice. And salt and pepper too, of course.

The Italians might, however, prefer the following:

Serves 4

* About 1kg mixed squash and courgette (zucchini if you are being pedantic!) * 3 tbsp olive oil * 3 cloves garlic, chopped * 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped, or dried chilli to taste a handful of * chopped parsley salt and pepper zest and juice of 1 lemon fresh oregano or marjarom – about 1 tbsp

Cut the squash into chunks of about an inch. Brown off in the olive oil, then add the courgette, in chunks of similar size, and fry for a few more minutes. Add the garlic, chilli, half the parsley, salt and pepper then cover with a lid, turn down the heat and braise for about 10 minutes until soft. Just before serving, reheat, add the remaining parsley, lemon, oregano and adjust the seasoning. Serve drizzled with good olive oil.

This is equally good served at room temperature (perhaps as part of mixed antipasti), or you can cook it ahead of time, reheat and add the final herbs/lemon at this stage.

Regards
The Gourmet Doctor