Thursday, June 25, 2009

Tuscan Squash Pie

In my last post, I mentioned the Cooking Away my CSA group. The information shared by this group will reveal what’s offered in different areas at different points in the season, and it’s great for getting ideas about how to use the vegetables we receive. When I receive a lot of one vegetable and need ideas, I reach for Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. I go straight to the index, look up whatever that vegetable is, and find several options influenced by different cooking styles from around the world. Here in Austin, it’s already that zucchini time of year. I’ve received zucchini and yellow squash in my last couple of CSA pick-ups, and last week, there was also a big, pretty pattypan squash. I find pattypans are a little firmer or maybe thicker-skinned than other summer squashes, but I tend to use them as I do zucchini. So, when I looked up zucchini in the World Vegetarian index, I found Tuscan zucchini pie and decided it would be just as good with pattypan squash.

In making this pie, I went rogue with a few of the details. Obviously, I made a substitution for the main ingredient. I also added some red bell pepper because I had some that needed to be used, and I thought it would look as nice as it would taste. And, even though the ingredients were supposed to have been split between two eight-inch pans, I piled them all into one 12-inch tart pan. A custard was made from eggs, flour, milk, and water. To that, minced garlic, sliced scallions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg were added. In the introduction to the recipe, there’s a suggestion about adding some grated parmigiano reggiano if you’d like. Of course, I’d like, so I most certainly added the cheese. The sliced squash and bell pepper were arranged in the tart pan in two layers, and the custard was poured over top. I reserved a little grated parmigiano to sprinkle on top, and then drizzled on olive oil before baking.

To serve, a second drizzle of olive oil was suggested for each piece, but I used leftover basil oil instead. Although this is a custard pie, it’s not heavy at all and the vegetables are the main attraction here. The custard served to just barely bind the sliced squash into a cohesive whole. The scallions and garlic added great flavor, and in my opinion, the parmigiano should have been included in the recipe rather than mentioned as an option. This was a nice dinner with salad and garlic toast on the side, but it would work well for brunch too. The amount of custard could be easily scaled up, and several other vegetable combinations come to mind that might be used here. It’s essentially a crust-less quiche, but with these particular vegetables, and just a few tablespoons of grated cheese, it was a perfectly light, summery meal.



35 comments:

  1. I love that book too!!! It's got so many ideas!!!
    This pi looks amazing, so healthy too! Yummy!

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  2. Going rogue, eh? Looks very much like a success! Such vibrant, beautiful ingredients -- your food is always so photogenic. : ) I'm not familiar with the book, and as a vegetarian/pescentarian, clearly I should get familiar.

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  3. Wow, that's one weird looking squash! I've never seen that before! Not a big fan of veg pie but it looks so pretty =)

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  4. You might not believe me, but I have never seen a squash that shape! The squash pie looks beautiful!
    p.s. Sorry that I didn't visit last few days. My new templates(oh, yes, I am still trying some gadgets) somehow screwed up my blog link lists, many of links were just gone........to play it safe, I added you to the follower list.

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  5. Sounds like your substitutions are what made this dish. Again.

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  6. Nice looking squash, never seen it. The pie looks so tasty with all the ingredients in it. Nice pictures!

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  7. You've been so creative, especially lately Lisa. I am so happy to see this dish. It's kind of summery, happy and fun, and delicious too. I think I've seen this squash before. Not sure why didn't feel tempted to take it. Now I am ....

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  8. This dish is very colorful and light..So perfect for summer...I love squash and we don't cook squash this way..

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  9. Wow...Give me a huge slice of that pie right now! mmmm...

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  10. this is so awesome! I love the sexy appealing looks of the squash! just amazingly beautiful!

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  11. That's one beautiful pie. I'll bet it was delicious :)

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  12. What a great recipe. Love the pictures.

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  13. Lisa, your CSA veggies look amazing! It looks like I will be getting my first infusion of summer squash in tomorrow's pickup, so you might just be my inspiration!

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  14. i will happily devour any squash in any preparation, but it’s always nice when said squash is beautifully displayed. this is an elegant and classy and undoubtedly delicious dish that i wish was sitting in front of me right now.

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  15. Oh man, that first picture is food porn at its best - total yum!

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  16. What a gorgeous dish!!!

    My mom used to pickle pattysquash when we lived in Russia.

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  17. That is one neat-looking squash! The pie sounds super delicious!

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  18. Your squash pie looks so pretty, I bet it tastes heavenly. Funny enough I am leaving for Tuscany tomorrow : )

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  19. this looks delightful. i definitely heart squash. i will be making it just as soon as it stops being 105 degrees outside!

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  20. The pie looks totally fabulous..!!so flavorful lisa..:)..n thanks for the visit n comment.:)

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  21. oh wow, I'm admiring all your dishes. Perfect execution every single time and this Tuscan squash pie is no exception! I really enjoy reading your blog

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  22. woah... that looks sooo good, and its full of veggies (i'm trying to eat healthy these days). I think this is something my girl would like too! thanx! :)

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  23. This looks so yummy Lisa. I love cooking with squash all year long. I'm bookmarking this recipe! :)

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  24. now this is my kind of dinner. i made something similar a few weeks ago with eggplant in it, too. i love savory pies.

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  25. WOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!! My eyes are literally POPPING out of my head like the Mask. It looks SO good!

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  26. That looks so delicious and healthy! To pie-ify vegetables immediately upps their appeal to even the vegetable fearing :)

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  27. This pie looks like a great way to enjoy the summer squash!

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  28. Oh! I just love that last picture. & what a cute looking squash:-)

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  29. that looks fantastic! i'll have to try something like this.

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  30. Wow! What an absolutely gorgeous dinner! Chock full of vegetables and vitamins! This is a great dish for summer!

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  31. Hi! Just ran across your sight from Tastespotting- this looks delicious! Mind if I ask what CSA you use? I just learned about these a few weeks ago, apparently too late to get in on it for this year. :(

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  32. Hi Carey, thanks for visiting! I have a share with Hands of the Earth Farm. They're sold out for this season, but they should be signing up for the next season soon.

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  33. Thanks! :) I looked into that one but waited too long... I'll definitely get in on it next season!

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  34. This looks great! I just got a bunch of summer squash from my CSA so this is perfect!

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  35. Lisa, this is just beautiful! It screams summer and its almost too pretty to slice up.

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