Plate to Plate

It’s official, people. Zucchini season is here. You can tell, because vegetable lovers all over New England have a little bit of a rabid look in their eyes, perhaps even a slight yellow-green tint to their skin. Take a peek in people’s gardens and you’ll see summer squash the size of a baseball bat, or a cop’s billy club. Folks have just about had enough of summer squash.

Not me, though. I love the stuff. Bring it on, I say. In fact, that’s exactly what I did say when some friends of mine thrust upon me a six-pound bag of summer squash they’d just picked up from their CSA. They were about to head out of town — to get married! — and feared the stuff would rot away in their fridge while they were out on the west coast agreeing to spend the rest of their lives together.

It was the least I could do.

The problem was, I’d already picked up my own CSA share, also chock fulla zucchini. That means I had something more like twelve pounds of zucchini, which, even I admit is bordering on insane. Some of that zucchini had to go.

I was alone the evening I made this dish — Dan was out doing his weekly radio show — which maybe explains why this recipe has a step or two more than I might normally like for a weeknight dinner. (Because when I’m alone I like to cook more elaborate things, inexplicably.) Also, it involves the oven, so if it’s really, really hot where you are — lucky bastard — you might want to just file this one away for another time. But if you’re anything like me, you maybe have this bizarre inclination to bake only when the temperature climbs above 78, and you spend dinner fairly glistening with sweat, clad only in a tank top and your underpants, a huge glass of bubbly water with seventeen ice cubes at your side.

Sound like you? Oh, good. I thought it was just me.

Zucchini and Potato Charlotte

Adapted from The Silver Spoon

You can use zucchini, yellow summer squash, pattypan, or just about any other tender summer squash you can get your hands on in this recipe. At this time of year, that shouldn’t be a problem. The original recipe calls for a leek, not scallions, but I had scallions on hand from the CSA, and they worked out great. If you have a leek, use just the white part.

1 lb. 5 oz. new potatoes
3 tbs. butter, plus more for greasing
2/3 c. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 c. grated fontina or taleggio cheese
1 lb. 2 oz. zucchini or summer squash
1 bunch scallions, sliced, including some of the greens
1/4 c. mixed summer herbs (I used chives, parsley, and a little oregano)
1/3 c. milk
salt and pepper
paprika

Cook the potatoes in salted, boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, peel if you like, put in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter, the parmesan and fontina, and let cool slightly. Slice the largest of your squash on the diagonal into very thin rounds and parboil the rounds in salted water for a minute or two. (If you’re tree-hugger like me, you can reserve the potato cooking water for parboiling the squash — just scoop out the potatoes with a strainer or slotted spoon and return to heat.) Drain the squash pieces and spread them out on a kitchen towel to dry.

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease an ovenproof gratin dish with a little butter. Dice the remaining squash. Melt 2 tbs. butter in a large pan and saute the squasg along with the scallions over medium heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, lower the heat, pour in the milk, and cook, stirring, until it has been totally absorbed. Remove the pan from heat and stir the squash mixture into the potatoes. Add the herbs, and season with salt and pepper.

Line the gratin dish with the sliced squash, then top it with the potato mixture, smoothing the top with a spatula. Sprinkle some paprika over the top, and bake for 30 minutes.

Serves 4