This recipe is my own brainchild. It was inspired from a similar dish that I made from Paula Deen’s Magazine. I find that with her magazine a lot of her recipes are hit or miss. Some are SO good and others are just awful. Recently I’ve made two of her magazine recipes in a row that I hated. It makes me sad : ( because I really like her… Anyways, I really loved the concept for the last dish I made- Zucchini Squash Tart with Cornmeal Crust. It had a dill-cornmeal curst and a filling made of sliced zucchini and squash with more dill, some swiss and parmesan cheese, and an egg. Oh and there was an onion. Well, the whole thing was just terribly instructed, plus the crust ended up super dry. The recipe tells you to sauté the zucchini, squash, and onion together. There are a few problems here- firstly the 6 cups of sliced zucchini/squash, plus the onion made for a LOT to put in one pan. VERY frustrating. Then the whole mixture took forever to saute because there was so much, 30-40 minutes. That’s way too long to watch vegetables sauté. AND on top of that there was at least 1/2 cup of liquid or more that had to be drained off because it never evaporated, it just kept getting extracted from the veggies. Last but not least, this hot mixture is supposed to be mixed with the shredded cheese and egg, which was almost impossible to do since the cheese wouldn’t combine evenly because it was too busy clumping and melting from the heat. I was SO frustrated with this recipe that I decided to reconstruct it to function better. And I think I got a winner out of it : )
To solve the problem of excess liquid, I used the same method as I did for the Zucchini Fritters I made a few moths ago. Zucchini and squash have SO much liquid! It is super beneficial to take the time to extract it. You’d be shocked to see how much liquid is released. Instead of sliced veggies, I used shredded because it’s easier to extract liquid from AND it cooks in the oven without having to heat on the stove, thus avoiding the issue with the cheese melting when you combine everything together. So I start the recipe by salting the shredded Zucchini/Squash, placing it in a towel lined colander and letting it drain for 20-30 minutes. Yes that’s a long time, but not as long as watching all the vegetables sauté, plus by the time you’re done assembling all the other ingredients, the time will be up. The veggie mixture is squeezed right in the kitchen towel to extract the juices, and it works beautifully. While the mixture is salting you sauté the onion separately because it won’t cook completely in the oven from its raw state. Other small changes were the swapping of the cornmeal crust for the simple crescent roll one, along with the ditching of the dill for some garlic powder and substituting mozzarella for the swiss. I just think that mozzarella and garlic are more appealing flavors than dill and swiss, but feel free to go that route too!
All in all, I think the recipe turned out great! The end result are these cute little quiche-y like squares that would make perfect appetizers or a side or even a lunch. Just like with a quiche, you don’t want to dish it right it. It will pay to let it sit and rest right out of the oven for about 15 minutes or so. That gives it time to set up and firm a little. Try to be patient and you will definitely reap the benefits. I dug in immediately and it was good, but then I turned around 30 minutes later and grabbed some more and it was much better not being so piping hot and gooey, soft. Be better than I was, just wait.
Zucchini & Squash Squares
Serves: 16
Ingredients:
- 3 medium zucchini, shredded
- 3 medium yellow squash, shredded
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 Tb butter
- 6 oz shredded mozzarella (about 1½ cups)
- 4 oz shredded parmesan (about 1 cup)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 pkg Crescent Rolls
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a colander lined with a clean, linen free dish towel, toss zucchini and squash together with salt. Set aside in the sink for water to drain 20-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until tender and browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside in a small bowl to cool.
Prep a 9″ x 13″ pan by spraying it with cooking oil then lining it with the crescent rolls, pressing together at the seams to form a crust.
In a large bowl, mix together both cheeses. Squeeze dry the zucchini and squash by wringing out the dish towel until almost all the liquid has been released. Dump in bowl with cheese along with the onions. Stir until all the ingredients all evenly disbursed.
In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, garlic powder, and black pepper. Pour over zucchini/squash mixture and mix to combine. Pour into crescent roll crust and bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let it rest at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.
