Kitchen Garden Forum

I have some Turk's Turban and also a lot of Patty Pan squash. What the heck do I do with it now?

Hello Chantal
I'm not sure about Turks Turban but patty pan squashes are a summer type and are used in much the same way as courgettes and so on. PPs are best used when small and young. If you try to keep them they just beome hard and inedible.

John

PS Nice to see your feature in the Telegraph - does this mean that you are now a gardening 'celeb'?

Thanks John and no, not a celeb in any way shape or form.

I've grown both but only eaten the patty pans. I think if you can be bothered to peel and deseed them they are ok when large. I made chutney out of my biggest ones. The turk's turbans I grew got relegated to the bottom of my squash league table after reading that they taste rather like turnip (yuk!). By the time we'd scoffed all the tastier varieties I'd grown, they were only good for temporary garden decoration.

We roast our patti pans cut into wedges and drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and whichever herbs are handy and/or take your fancy. We have not experienced any ill effects from letting them grow quite large, say about 8 inches in diameter.

You may be interested in a tale we have to tell. We were in Paris last October and saw near the Bastille metro station a restaurant boasting unusual vegetables. Prominent among these were patti pans and they were utterly gobsmacked when i told them that I had grown a fine crop of them in England. The restaurant is called Chez Clement and we can recommend it.

mike

Hi Chantal. Like the others, I eat pattypans when fairly young. If you let them get too large it is all seeds in the middle and not much usable flesh. I roast them like Mike with olive oil and herbs. You can also brush slices with oil and cook them in a griddle pan and they are nice cold as a salad. I find they down get as soft as courgettes even when cooked, so aren't so good as a sub sometimes.

Not grown Turks Turban, but I also roast squash, or it makes lovely soup and is always good with any recipie containing chilli or spices, which can liven up a dull tasting one. My basic soup recipie is:

Chop up an onion and cook with veg oil and/or butter until soft.
Add cubed squash, garlic and either garden herbs, OR chilli, cumin and coriander.
Put the lid on and sweat over a low heat for 10 mins.
Add stock or water and cook until squash is really tender.
Liquidize and add add milk if you want a richer tasting soup.
Serve the herby one with grated cheese on top and the spicy one with a dollop of plain yogurt on top and some chopped coriander leaves.

MMmmmmmm - roll on autumn

I have got a recipie for squash chutney if you would like it.

Sue

p.s. you can also BBQ both if brushed with oil. BBQ squash slices always go down a storm with any friends we have cooked them for.

Turks Turban are a winter squash, so leave them til the foliage gets manky, then harvest with a long stem and leave outdoors under shelter to cure. Then they should last months. Cook like any other winter squash e.g. butternut. Some people don't rate them, but we enjoy them roast and all

Thanks to both of you and yes please Sue, stick the chutney recipe in the recipe section if you'd be so kind.

Both can be used in stir fries and a useful recipe for any courgette/squash is to combine it with eggs, onions and cheese and bake it.

Do you want me to post the recipe?

Try growing the Patty Pans to a reasonable 'fist' size before cutting.

Set the Oven for Gas 6, 200c or 400f.

Simmer it/them in salted water for about 4 mins, drain, then cool until handleable.

Meanwhile, fry 1 large peeled and finely chopped onion in 1 tblsps. olive oil and half ounce of butter until slightly brown and softened, adding 2 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped) for the last few minutes and then season with a little salt
& pepper.


When the pattypan are cool enough,cut off a 'lid' from the top, then scoop out the fleshy inner bit and chuck it in the bin. I know.

Then put some of the onion, some roasted walnuts and crumbled blue cheese into the pattypans.
Bake uncovered until browned and bubbling.

Trousers would rather have THAT with a bit of home-grown bunny grub any day of the week to a shop-bought dinner, but with more MEAT, obviously....!
I simply adore this recipe, and you can alter it with the ingredients to suit your own tastes quite easily.At this stage, I'm not entirely sure if it freezes well, but I've frozen some anyway, just because I can...
If it works it does. If it doesn't, I just won't bother again, and I've learned something, eh?!
Freshly done. Kaz - how does it go?
It's G O R G E O U S !!!

Last year I gave one Turks Turban away, another to Harvest Festival and made a soup out of the one I had left.
To be honest with you, it made rather a lot of soup.
To be honest with you, we're a little bit tired of it now...........and we've still got rather a lot of it in the freezer...
But you know what? Chuck a handful of freshly grated Gruyere Cheese in every heated-up bowlful, and it IS rather lovely.....
Failing that, I'm sure I could find some fresh herbs to chuck into it for a welcome change, no?!

Thanks Wellie, I'll stop trying to give them away and try some of these.

Chanters - have put the chutney recipie on the forum, plus another recipie I found for using up pattypans. Have made both and can recommend them.

Sue