Okie Squash and Tomatoes

Family Memories
David's Grandma used to fix this dish a lot in the summer, when they ate mostly out of the garden. It is a good way to use bigger summer squashes which are beyond the tender, baby stage which we prize (especially in the case of crooknecks or straightnecks) for more delicate recipes. But if the seeds have started to harden or the skin is tough, you'll have to seed and/or pare the squashes first.

While I was staying with Yvonne's family in Switzerland, her mother prepared sliced kohlrabi with tomato, onion and bacon and froze it for winter.  It tasted something like "Okie squash and tomatoes" with a little cabbage flavor.  I haven't tried freezing the squash, onion and tomato dish (no cheese until serving time), but I bet it would work. 

David's Mom currently prefers to make this dish with bacon - no cheese - using fresh tomatoes.  Jana recently did a layered variation using spaghetti sauce and roast beef.  Vary at will.  

Basic Ingredients
Squash to fill a 10 to 12 inch covered skillet (or a big electric skillet for a larger batch)
One medium onion (10-inch skillet), more for a larger skillet
Salt to taste
Fresh tomatoes, tomato sauce or diced or stewed canned tomatoes
Ground red or black pepper to taste

Optional Ingredients
• Bacon, fried until crisp, or diced ham
• Diced Ancho, Pasilla or other mild, fresh chiles, to taste.
• Roasted Jalapeno or other hot chiles to taste
• Italian or other seasoning to taste
• Cheese - cheddar, pepper jack, cheddar plus mozzarella, parmesan plus mozzarella, Swiss. Pair the type of cheese you use with the ingredients you add (pepper jack with fresh chiles, cheddar or Swiss with bacon, Italian cheeses with Italian spices, etc.)

Directions
Heat a large covered skillet over medium heat. Add some vegetable or olive oil (or bacon grease for authenticity) to lightly coat the skillet. If you plan to add bacon, fry the bacon first, drain away most of the fat and cook the onions in the same pan. Quarter and slice an onion into the oil or bacon fat and sautee until it starts to become translucent. You can continue to sautee gently until the onion caramelizes if you like.

Cut washed and trimmed summer squash into slices, about 1/2 inch, and cut into quarters if squashes are large. I like to use at least part zucchini for this dish - green or yellow. Pattypans and straightnecks or crooknecks also work. Start with the largest, firmest squash. Place in the skillet with the onion and sprinkle with a little salt to draw out some liquid. Cover while preparing additional squashes. Continue adding squash with salt and pepper to taste until you have a skilletful, or as much as you want. Cover, stir occasionally until the flesh of the squash starts to lose its white color, If you add tomatoes too soon, the squash may squeak on your teeth when you eat it.

Add a few peeled, diced tomatoes and/or a small can (about 8 oz.) of tomato sauce. For a big electric skillet full of squash, you can use a can (about 15 ounces) of stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes or tomatoes with Mexican or Italian seasonings. Add a little tomato sauce if you want the liquid to be thicker. Or use two cans of tomato sauce. Stir and simmer until raw tomatoes are done or until canned tomatoes are heated through.

Adjust seasoning. If you like, add some crumbled bacon or diced ham. You can also top it with cheddar cheese, a little Parmesan or other cheese of your choice.   Cover skillet until cheese melts.

We usually skip the meat and top the squash with cheese. You may want to serve this dish in bowls if you make it with tomatoes rather than tomato sauce, because it will have considerable liquid. If you make it with tomato sauce, it's less invasive on a plate with other foods.

Nice for dinner, maybe with some Pinto beans for a real Okie experience.  Also great for breakfast with buttered toast. Reminds me of my Grandma's stewed tomato, toast and cheese breakfasts on the farm. For a fancier presentation, spoon into individual oven-proof ramekins or casseroles, top with cheese and buttered bread or cracker crumbs and run under the broiler. If the weather's not too hot to turn on the oven.

For a Potluck
With a big electric skillet, you can feed a lot of people. Just increase the amounts of ingredients and use a bigger onion, or two onions.  This recipe and Spanish Green Beans (below) are very popular at potlucks.  You can make the bean dish in winter, when fresh squash is hard to come by.

Other Recommendations
You could also use Lagenaria gourds in this recipe - pared and seeded if large. These Italian gourds have some advantages over squash in the garden - they have no spines on their stems, have velvety leaves and are less susceptible to common squash diseases and pests. They are vining, and would be dramatic on an overhead trellis with the long fruits hanging down. One year I planted them with Trombocino summer squashes (also useful in the recipe above). These vining summer squashes are related to butternuts (C. moschata) and the plants are also free from spines. They tend to continue producing fruits after common summer squashes have given up. Their flavor and texture is different from the more common C. pepo summer squashes.

If you like this recipe, you might like another Okie dish, okra with onions and stewed tomatoes, or this recipe for "Spanish" Green Beans.