Most gardeners whine during squash season. “Too much squash,” they complain.
Here in Seattle, as we head into mid-August of the summer-that-never-was, too much of anything is not a garden problem we face. That’s why I was excited to see two cue-ball zucchini squash ripen at the same time. They may be the only two cue-balls we get to eat this season (just like the one-dinner’s-worth of French beans I got this past weekend from my measly bean bushes), but at least there are two. Or were two.
I picked our little, barely fist-size cue-ball squash (sometimes called eight-ball zucchini) and decided to stuff them. You can’t click your mouse without running into stuffed squash recipes on the internet, but I wanted to create a recipe using other goodies from our garden. At the ready, we had: a few ripe cherry tomatoes, basil and a variety of herbs, and Walla Walla sweet onions.
Here’s how I put together our cue-balls:
1. I slice off the top of the cue balls first, just like I would with a Halloween pumpkin.
2. Then I scooped out the inside of the squash with a spoon (again, like Halloween, just in miniature), I chopped what I scooped and set it aside.
3. Next I chopped a handful of cherry tomatoes (Sungold how I love thee), diced two small Walla Walla onions and cut a handful of basil into strips, and lightly sautéed them.
4. In a mixing bowl I put the sautéed veggies with approximately 1/8 cup of bread crumbs and some of the herb goat cheese I make (log of goat cheese, mixed with a drizzle of olive oil and an assortment of chopped herbs).
5. I steamed the hollowed out cue-balls (open side down) for about 8 minutes. After they cooled a few minutes, I packed in the filling and put their lids back on (lightly).
6. Finally, I put them in a baking dish, inside the 350-degree pre-heated oven and let them bake for about 20 minutes.
Then we ate ‘em. Man, were they ever cute. And, tasty.
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Nancy says
Oh, yum, Beth! And how cute! You inspire me on so many levels . . .
Beth Shepherd says
You are so sweet 🙂