Recipe :: Quinoa Stuffed Pattypan Squash

Have you heard of a pattypan squash before?? I had NOT. I had to do a little research when a friend of ours kindly gave us a bunch of these funny characters from his garden:

Isn't she cute?? Google informed me that pattypans are a type of summer squash that can be used just like yellow squash or zucchini. You can dice them up and throw them in the same exact recipes that you might use one of those popular summer veggies. However, we've had wayyy too many zucchini on hand lately, so I've used up pretty much every one of my go-to zucchini/squash recipes.  

So in the interest of maintaining the adorable shape and style of my little pattypans, I decided that stuffing them would be the right way to go. Besides, what's better than being able to eat the container your food is served in? Sounds like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory come true.

Quinoa Stuffed Pattypan Squash:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4

Serving size: about 2 pattypan squash

ingredients

cooking spray

6-8 pattypan squash (6 if they're large, 8 if they're smaller)

cooking spray

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 c. vegetable broth

1 1/2 c. cooked quinoa

pinch of salt, pinch of pep

1 T. hot sauce 

3/4 c. grated mild cheese of your choosing (we had mozzarella on hand)

1/4 c. chopped parsley

instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 11 baking dish with cooking spray.

Time to hollow out your pattypan squash. Slice off the stem end, then scoop out most of the insides. It's kind of like carving a pumpkin - a firm spoon helps! You want about a half-inch shell (or less) remaining. Discard as many of the seeds as you can, but reserve 1/2 cup of chopped squash insides. Place the pattypan squash in the baking dish.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and oregano and cook 1 minute more.  Add reserved squash insides, tomato, and parsley and saute for 3 minutes, then stir in the broth, quinoa, salt & pepper to taste, and a couple splashes of hot sauce if you'd like to spice it up a bit. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. 

Divide filling into pattypan squash, and top with the grated mozzarella. Pour 1/4 cup of water into bottom of baking dish, then cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes or until squash is tender. 

Notes:  

• The smaller pattypans came out better than the one huge one we had, as they cooked through more thoroughly.
• Jimbo put some parmesan on his as well, which he enjoyed (more cheese the better, duh).
• I used what we had in the kitchen, but there are so many things you could throw in the stuffing...peppers, spinach, beans, panko crumbs, etc.
• We had some leftover filling, which was an amazing lunch today!

Enjoy!