Try a New Food: Pattypan Squash

Stuffed pattypan squash.

Several years back, a friend of my husband's gave us the overflow of pattypan squash from his garden. We laughed at the squash: It looked like some sort of strangely scalloped flying saucer. But when we ate it, we stopped laughing and starting saying "yum!"

Like most summer squash, pattypan (sometimes called "scallop squash") is extremely easy to grow and is just as prolific as, say, zucchini. I've never seen it in any grocery store, but I have friends who've found it at farmer's markets. They are easy to spot by their strange shape, and come in colors ranging from bright yellowish orange, to green, to a combination of both.

Once tried, pattypan is pretty universally admired - although I have read some blogs where the authors complain it's "too bland." It's true pattypan is, like other summer squash, mild tasting, but if it's bland, something is wrong.

The Secret to Great-Tasting Pattypan Squash
All summer squash diminish in flavor if allowed to grow too large; pattypan squash is no exception. But what surprises many is that pattypan is ideally eaten when quite small - no more than 5 inches across and ideally about 3 inches across. When eaten small, pattypan has a wonderful buttery flavor with hints of artichoke or zucchini. When large, pattypan is bland and may be full of seeds.

On the left is a pattypan I let get too large. On the right is an ideally small pattypan squash.

How to Cook Pattypan Squash
All summer squash can essentially be cooked the same. So you could use pattypan in your favorite zucchini and yellow summer squash recipes. Try it sliced and pan fried, battered and baked, chopped into salads, or stuffed with sausage and rice and marinara sauce.

But if you want a very simple recipe that highlights pattypan's flavor, try this, from my A Vegetable For Every Season Cookbook:

With a fork, poke through the skin of the squash three or four times. Place the squash in the microwave and cook on high for 4 minutes. Turn the squash over and cook for another 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then slice in half. Dab with butter and season with salt and pepper. Eat, skin and all.

If you prefer, cook the pattypan in a 375 degree F. oven for about 30 minutes, or until completely tender.

Bon appetite!