Last night as we were eating dinner, I kept stealing glances into the kitchen; gazing at the end counter. Then I caught myself and realized how far off the deep end I’ve thrown myself.
It wasn’t that long ago that I did the same thing after buying a new Stephen King book and adding it to my collection. Heck, I can still clearly remember coming home with a few new LP’s, peeling off the shrink wrap; and poring over the album covers; back when album covers a) existed and b) were big enough to actually pore over.
Last night though, last night I was reveling in a vision of vegetables. My counter is piled high with yellow squash, zucchini, sweet corn, cucumbers and more. And I don’t even have a garden.
Every time a friend drops by to share some of their abundance, I restrain myself from doing what would embarrass the rest of my family to the point of never venturing out in public again. For their sake,I wait until my friend is gone, then and only then, I do my happy dance.
It’s a happy dance that’s gained me platinum membership in the ‘please don’t ever dance’ club. Add hugging vegetables to my chest and if other members ever saw me, I’d get kicked out of that too.
Within the past three days, I’ve been given yellow squash by three different people. I just can’t say no to it. Even though I’m the only one in the family that likes it and, well, eats it, to turn down vegetables that have been lovingly raised and picked by friends is inconceivable.
It’s out of that generosity that this recipe was born. When you have a stack of squash, invention is paramount.
The Process
I didn’t want to have the oven on for very long and I wanted to maintain the vibrant yellow of the squash, which is why I chose to parboil it first. Five to eight minutes does the trick.
I did want some caramelized flavor so the sweetness would balance the sharpness of the aged Asiago. That’s why the onions are sauteed in butter (you could definitely use olive oil if you chose) for a few minutes.
Other than those two things, it’s a matter of dumping everything in a bowl, mixing it and baking it up to delicious, golden goodness.
The Verdict
Hubby and Dudette wouldn’t touch this, but I’ve been relishing it. I’ve been eating it for lunch and it is delicious. I will definitely make it for company, especially if I’m given more yellow squash. For me, it’s a plate of summer.
- 3-4 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup grated Asiago cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Boil sliced squash in a large pot of salted water for 5-8 minutes, until just starting to soften. Pour into a colander and let drain.
- While squash drains, add oil and melt butter in a medium saucepan set on medium-high. Add onion and saute until just starting to turn golden. Add garlic and saute 2 minutes more.
- In a large bowl, gently fold together cooked squash, onion mixture, sour cream, cream cheese, Asiago, salt and pepper until well combined. Pour into a buttered casserole dish.
- Top with Panko crumbs.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes. If the topping doesn’t brown or get crispy enough, feel free to turn on the broiler for a minute or two (but watch the casserole closely).
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Wow this looks so good! Only thing is I would use crushed up crackers instead of bread crumbs. That’s how my grandma makes her veggie casserole:). Or by a loaf of French bread and let it go stale then grate it for fresh bread crumbs.