Yesterday I picked up about 5lb of summer squash (aka zucchini squash) for $1 in the clearance bin. I didn't know what they were until I asked at the cash register, but I knew they'd result in something interesting. Turns out their title is warranted; their flesh is much like zucchini, but their aroma, size, and colour resemble squash.
I've been getting all sorts of fruits and vegetables from the clearance bin lately, not so much because of the low cost, but because it poses a challenge: ingredients I may not normally pick up that are ripe and need to be used pronto.
So I surfed the web for some ideas and came across this recipe, from a vegan blogger, which really caught my eye:
Sunny Summer Squash Soup
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small hot pepper, seeds removed and chopped
2 ribs celery, strings removed and chopped
2 medium (12-14 ounces) gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
1 1/2 pounds small yellow squash, chopped (or young zucchini)
1 pinch white pepper
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional, for color)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tablespoon tahini (optional)
salt and white pepper, to taste (optional)
In my version I used 2 onions, 4 cloves of garlic, chili pepper seeds, no celery, 1.5 to 2 lb of summer squash, 1/2 pound of Yukon golds, and around 4 cups of mushroom broth from 1.5 bullion cubes.
Sauteed the garlic and chili seeds briefly, added the onions and sauteed until soft and lightly browned, added the potatoes and summer squash - both diced, suteed for 5 to 10 minutes until softened and excreting juices, then added the broth and simmered for 20 minutes. Reserved 1/2 of the solids, added some cream of wheat to the remaining portion as a thickener, blended to a fine puree, then replaced the reserved portion. Finally, I seasoned it:
The flavor combination was brilliant. Oregano worked great by itself. Then I tried a little turmeric - gave it some nice colour and added a bit of depth. Then I slowly added tahini until there was a subtle sesame nuttiness... wow! Didn't have any nutritional yeast on hand, but I bet it could also work.