Monday, October 27, 2008

No.31: Patty pan Squash

Being so cute & colorful makes patty pan squashes big hits
with children!


1. Brightly colored, this little squash comes in numerous varieties: white, bright yellow or orange, and ends in a thick green tail.
The pattypan is about the size of a pepper, semi-spherical in shape with
a scalloped border.

2. The French name pâtisson comes from the Provençal word for a cake made in a scalloped mould. It also bears the French nicknames of "Israel artichoke" and
"Priest's bonnet."

3. In fine cuisine, its tender flesh is sometimes scooped out and mixed with flavorings such as garlic prior to reinsertion; the scooped-out husk of a pattypan also is sometimes used as a decorative container for other foods.

4. Choose the smallest ones available if you want the best taste and texture as once it gets older, its flesh whitens and toughens. Since pattypans are picked when immature, they should be eaten as soon as possible.

5. Mini pattypans are best used raw, since high heat can turn their flesh floury and slightly sour. Or you could always preserve them in vinegar!

Reference: Wikipedia, Nation Master, Ezine Articles, The Worldwide Gourmet, Wisegeek

3 comments:

Christine said...

Hi! Ha ha! I'm so glad you visited my site, and so happy you like it!

My first veggie-request is cauliflower. Also lima beans for my weird hubby. Maybe you've already done them, but I missed it. If so, please tell me the link(s). Cauliflower's a favorite of ours, roasted!

I've been looking at all of your sites, and with your design and organizational abilities, I'd suggest you write and illustrate a cookbook with each veggie having its own features recipe. I'd buy it!!

P.S. My mainly carnivorous husband thinks all your veggies are real cute, too. Maybe we can convert him? Ha ha!

BracLynn said...

grin* That's really sweet of you guys! Thank you for your support! Convert we shall, bit by bit! :p

Karl K. said...

I don't think I've ever seen one in Florida store's produce department, and I don't ever recall seeing one in various parts of Asia.

I'll ask a friend over at pricey Whole Foods, and see if they carry patty pans. I hated nearly all forms of squash as a child, and my mom always wondered why. She ate a school lunch during parents' day at my elementary school, and she discovered the reason - at the school cafeteria where they served squash which had been boiled in water to the point of decomposition. She gagged on it too. I then tried some grilled and baked squashes at home,which I'd always refused before - and loved them.