What’s in Season

What’s in Season Summer Squash & Squash Blossoms

Rediscovering one of summer’s most plentiful offerings

By Jamie Collins Photography by Carole Topalian

The much-loved, nutritious and economical summer squash makes a debut at local Central Coast farmers’ markets in June and is available through October. It’s also easy to grow yourself and is an extremely versatile ingredient to include in your summer cooking repertoire.

Squash resides in the cucurbit family, shared by vining fruits such as melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and gourds, and was one of the first cultivated plants in the Americas. Long before resembling the flavor and shape commonly found on market tables today, squash was a bitter fruit with a tough skin and very little edible flesh. Eventually, it was developed into the succulent summer mainstay it is today; zucchini, for example, was first developed in Italy and brought to California in the 1920s by Italian immigrants before being grown commercially.

Botanically a fruit, summer squash is the swollen ovary of the female zucchini flower. But since it is most often used in savory dishes, squash is typically considered a vegetable. Squash plants have both male and female flowers. The female squash flower grows the fruit and is the large variety you see attached to the end of baby squash. Male flowers are smaller and can be found on the plant’s stem, where they merely provide pollen for passing bees to use to fertilize the females. The males are typically harvested for cooking, as they don’t produce squash themselves, but if you are hoping to harvest squash at a later date, be sure to leave a few male flowers on each plant for pollination purposes.

If you plant your own squash, wait to harvest the blossoms on the same day that you plan to prepare and eat them, as they are delicate and will wither quickly. They should be picked in the middle of the day, when they are open. The pistils and stamens—the female and male flower parts, respectively—are typically removed before cooking.

For best flavor and texture, the squash themselves should also be harvested right before cooking. If you need to store them, keep them refrigerated between 32° and 50° and try to eat them within three days.

Cooking Summer Squash

My favorite summer appetizer is roasted baby zucchini, with the flower still attached: Simply mix some soft goat cheese with fresh seasonal herbs like basil, thyme and parsley, slivers of sun-dried tomatoes and sea salt. Carefully stuff each blossom with this mixture, and gently fold up the ends. Gently roll the baby squash in olive oil (while avoiding getting olive oil on the blossoms). Place in a shallow pan and bake at 350° F for five minutes.

The delicate flavor of the squash blossoms can also be enjoyed many other ways. In Mexican cooking, for example, “Flor de Calabaza,” as the flowers are known, are tucked into quesadillas or simmered in soup with other vegetables such as corn, carrots and poblano chiles in a chicken stock or tomato cream broth.

As the zucchini squash grows, the flower eventually falls off. The smaller the squash, the more tender it is. If overlooked, summer squash can grow to great lengths, but not to fret—a giant squash can be grated and used for baking breads, or the flesh can be scooped out and mixed with herbs, cheese and bread crumbs and placed back inside the hollowed squash and baked. The result is a delicious zucchini boat that will feed a large number of people.

Summer squash provides endless options for the creative cook. Consider shredding squash for a tasty and nutritious addition to your pancake batter, along with sautéed chopped onions and herbs, or slicing it thinly with a mandolin and tossing with herb vinaigrette for an elegant, simple salad.

The favorite standby, grilled zucchini, is best prepared by slicing thinly and marinating in balsamic vinegar and olive oil; try adding some apple wood-smoked sea salt prior to grilling. Sautéing is perhaps the easiest way to prepare it, and the dish can be sublime when made with good butter or olive oil and fresh herbs. For something more substantial, yet still vitamin-packed, toss the sautéed zuchinni with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and hot pasta.

Do you know your heirloom squashes?

Summer squash is not limited to green zucchini but many other shapes, sizes and colors from dark green to light green to yellow and some that have both colors on the same squash. Most have similar flavor but slightly different texture. What follows are some of my favorite varieties.

Costata Romanesco – A large, elongated Italian heirloom variety with two beautiful tones of green and ribbed skin. The flavor

LOCAL FOODS IN SEASON

June, July And August

Fruit: *Apples • **** Apricots • Avocados • Blackberries • ****Blueberries • *Boysenberries • **Cherries • Figs • ***Grapes • ***Melons • Nectarines • Olallieberries • Oranges • Peaches • ***Pears • Plums • Raspberries • Strawberries

Vegetables: **Artichokes • Arugula • **Asparagus • Basil • Beets • Bok Choy • Broccoli • Carrots • Cauliflower • Celery • Chard Collards • Corn • Cucumbers • Eggplant Garlic • Kale • Leeks • Lettuces • Mushrooms • Onions • Peas • ***Peppers, Bell Potatoes • Radishes • Spinach • Summer Squash • Tomatoes

*comes into season in June **ends in June ***comes into season in July ****comes into season in August *****goes out of season in July (No notation means the crop is available all throughout June, July and August)

Fish: Abalone (farmed) • Albacore Tuna (troll/pole) • California Halibut (hook-andline) • Chinook Salmon (purse seine or troll) • Dungeness Crab • Lingcod • Market Squid • Pacific Sardines • Sablefish (aka Black Cod—hook-and-line and jig) • Rock Cod (aka Snapper, Rockfish—hook-andline and jig) • Sole (Dover, Petrale) • Spot Prawns • White Seabass (hook-and-line)

Sources: CAFF, Gizdich Ranch, Local Catch Monterey Bay, Passionfish Restaurant, Serendipity Farms.

Note: Only seafood that is considered sustainable by Seafood Watch is included here.

of this variety is nutty, and the texture holds up well to grilling. This squash yields only about half of what a hybrid one would, but with such star flavor, this variety is well worth it. Just be sure to plant extra. The added benefit: since this one is an heirloom, the seed can be saved for next year’s garden.

Green Tint Pattypan / Scallop Squash – A UFO-shaped mini squash best suited for being sauteed or tossed into soups due to the high water content and delicious sweet and mild flavor. Also available in yellow and dark green, but the light green pattypans are more buttery in flavor.

Yellow Crookneck – A light yellow variety with a soft skin that bruises easily but also the most tender of all summer squash and the best marinated and cooked al dente or stir fried. I love them on sandwiches and will cook and keep them in the refrigerator continuing to marinate for for as long as a week, adding them to everything.

Eight Ball – A dark green, round variety with a flavor and texture of green zucchini. This squash is all about the novelty of the shape, which is conducive to being hollowed out and stuffed with grains such as wild rice or quinoa, ground meat and chopped vegetables. Finish by topping with your favorite cheese and baking until tender.

Growing Squash

On the Central Coast, squash seeds can be directly seeded into fertile ground as late as the end of July. To produce a steady supply, you’ll want to plant a fresh crop every three weeks. Keep the planting bed moist until seedlings emerge, and then thin to allow about two feet between plants and water as needed. Once plants start to flower, water at the soil level and be sure to avoid getting the plants wet. Otherwise, you’ll risk fungal problems and damage to the squash blossoms—an important factor if you intend to use them in the kitchen.

Squash take about 50 days to reach maturity from seed and are wonderful for small gardens because just one plant will flower and fruit for several months, providing many pounds of nutritious produce.

They’re good for you, too

If all of this hasn’t made you appreciate summer squash all the more, knowing how nutritious it is just might. It is a super source of manganese, which helps facilitate protein, metabolize carbohydrates and activate enzymes, which helps most nutrients to be absorbed into the body. It is also high in folate and vitamin C—both excellent antioxidants that are beneficial to the heart. With zero fat and low in calories, squash should be a regular part of summer meals.

Jamie Collins of Serendipity Farms has been farming organic row crops at the mouth of Carmel Valley for more than 10 years and sells via a Community Supported Agriculture program, U-Picks, and farmers’ markets.

RECIPE: For a recipe for Roasted Squash with Seafood Saffron Risotto from the Fish Hopper’s Mo Tabib, please go to the “RECIPES” tab at www.ediblemontereybay.com.