Have you noticed that so much of the food typical of autumn holidays is yellow or orange? Adding spinach salad, pomegranate seeds, cranberry relish, or Brussels sprouts to our Thanksgiving table definitely broadens the palate, both color and taste. But today we’re sticking to the yellow orange-y theme!
We recently visited dear friends in Virginia; Ellyn was my college roomie (who therefore knows way too much about me). We were also bridesmaids at each other’s weddings and have always kept in touch despite the distance of a continent that separates us. Being born and raised in Norfolk, she is a woman with all the charm and cooking skills you’d expect of a southern belle. When we stopped by to see her a few months ago, she served us a lovely dinner with an interesting side dish she called Ann’s Squash Casserole, named for her cousin but now decidedly her own. It was delicious and we realized it would go beautifully with any main course or would even be perfect as a meal in itself. Ellyn’s recipe uses yellow squash but when shopping for the ingredients, I somehow interpreted it as butternut squash and using that, created a dish that either would horrify Ellyn or delight her!
Here’s our combined version and we suggest you use the squash of your choice… or blend several together. You might, dare we say, incorporate zucchini to add a bit of green…. But that’s only if you’re feeling really wild!
- 5 - 6 pounds of fresh yellow squash, cooked, drained, and cut into 1-inch pieces (you can cheat here and buy the squash already cubed!)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup panko crumbs or bread crumbs (either seasoned or plain, but cut back on salt if using seasoned)
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 4 ounces unsalted melted butter (1 stick), plus 2 tablespoons for topping
- 1 - 2 tablespoons sugar
- Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Trim ends of squash and steam until tender. Drain well before chopping.
- (If using butternut squash, peel and cut into 1-inch pieces, then put on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a preheated 300F degree oven for about an hour until tender.)
- While squash is cooking, saute onion in butter.
- Preheat oven to 375F degrees.
- Mix cooked squash, onion, bread crumbs, beaten eggs, melted butter, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl and then put mixture into casserole dish.
- Melt a few tablespoons more of butter and add additional crumbs, then spread mixture on top.
- Bake for about an hour or until set and browned on top.