I wish I thought of lentils more. Not just in my day dreams alongside Brad Pitt in a skimpy apron, but when I’m making grocery lists & attempting easy week night recipes. For some reason I have a mental block against them, like long division & dark chocolate. I’m sure there is some Freudian explanation, like I I’m really just pretending to like them & my subconscious knows it, or my great aunt Betty didn’t love me enough as a child, or I associate them with all that dang long division.
These were seriously one of the best things I’ve ever had. Something about the lemon-sage-squash combo blew my mind a little bit and I am really excited for breakfast to come back around so I can have more. Knowing leftovers are sitting in my fridge is driving me a little bit crazy….just….waiting to be eaten….NOMNOMNOM…..
My neighbor has this wonderfully generous habit of giving me excess from her CSA veggie box, so when some squash appeared in my hands from her I couldn’t resist the call of the frying pan. A lot of recipes I came across in my fritter research called for a bunch of eggs and flour, which seems like it would just mask the glory of the squash. No thank you, internet.
I would only maybe add a friend egg on top, but that’s only for frisky moments with adventure-seekers.
Go forth and conquer, foodies.
Squash Fritters
makes 8 fritters
2 small or medium spaghetti or butternut squash (about 2 c cooked, in the end), seeds reserved
1/2 c bread crumbs
3/4 c shredded Gruyere cheese
1 heaping T chopped fresh sage
1 t salt
1 egg
1/2 c vegetable oil
Sauce
2 T finely chopped chives
1/2 c greek yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of one lemon
1/2 t salt
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and bake cut-side down at 350 for 30-35 min, or until tender. Remove the squashy flesh from the skin and mash in a bowl. Toast the reserved seeds in the 350 oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until slightly brown and crunchy. Set aside. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and egg to the squash and stir until combined. Divide the mixture into 1/4 c patties. Heat the oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat and cook the fritters until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 min per side.
For the sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Top the fritters with a dollop of the yogurt sauce, sprinkle with the toasted squash seeds, and serve immediately.
(This post is for Corin, who has discovered the joys of risotto and will (hopefully) love the choice of ingredients!)
Far be it from me to rub it in the rest of the country’s face that California’s generous weather system has graced us with summer a couple of months early, but I’ll go ahead and do it anyway: 80 degrees, baby.
Such brilliant gusts of warm, freshly-cut grass breezes brought me to lemons and lemons brought me to Deb and Deb brought me to risotto. Add in the leftover gorgonzola from a little wine and cheese party last night and the world just made sense again.
I highly recommend investing in a bottle of lemon oil, which packs so much of a punch you only have use it sparingly and don’t need to purchase frequently. It mellowed out the gorgonzola perfectly (which was very strong) and was the perfect end to a warm day.
Lemon Gorgonzola Risotto
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
1/2 c short-grain or arborio rice
1/4 c white wine
2.5 c warm stock
1/2 c grated parmeggiano
1/3 c crumbed gorgonzola
1 scant t lemon oil or 1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2 T diced chives (optional)
Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat and, when hot, add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add in the onion and cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and reduce for 1 minute, or until absorbed a bit. Add in 1/2 c stock and reduce the heat to med-low, so that you have a high simmer going. Stir the rice frequently as you grate the parm, crumble the gorgonzola, zest the lemon, and dice the chives. Gradually add the stock into the rice as it absorbs and bubbles, approximately every 3-5 minutes. Remember to stir frequently and add enough stock along the way, or else the bottom of the pot will burn the simmering rice. After about 20 minutes or when the rice is at desired done-ness, turn off the heat. Stir in the parm, lemon oil, zest, and gorgonzola. Plate the risotto and add a sprinkling of chives on top. I served mine over a bed of arugula and spinach, which is pretty much how I eat everything.
