I ate this entire recipe by myself.
In one sitting.
It's that good.
The generous amount of cheese and butter did take it into the indulgence category, but otherwise, it was a rather nutritious meal with nearly a whole day's worth of fruits and vegetables. (Let's ignore the nearly entire day's worth of sodium.)
And considering it was my entire meal, I don't feel guilty.
The recipe is a riff on classic Southern squash casserole — sliced yellow squash, eggs, bread crumbs and sometimes cheese — but includes tomatoes and corn. Most recipes call for boiling the squash before assembling and baking the casserole, but I find that results in mushy, watery squash.
Instead, I toss the squash slices — and in this case the tomatoes, too — with a bit of salt and let them drain for about 30 minutes. This seasons the squash and pulls out some of the excess moisture. And I don't cook the squash before baking it in the casserole, so it retains just a bit of texture.
For this casserole, I skipped the egg and opted for a variant of white sauce and cheese to hold things together, and savory cheese-flavored crackers stood in for the bread crumbs.
When served as a side dish, this recipe makes about four servings, but I won't judge if you eat it all yourself.
Summer Squash, Tomato and Corn Casserole
2 cups thinly sliced yellow squash (from about ½ pound or 2 small squash)
½ pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
½ teaspoon coarse salt (I used Diamond Crystals kosher salt)
2 tablespoons butter, divided use
¼ cup minced red onion
1 clove garlic minced or 1 teaspoon garlic paste
½ cup corn kernels
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup milk
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
Ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup cheese crackers, such as Goldfish or Cheez-Its, crushed
Combine squash, tomatoes and ½ teaspoon of salt in a colander set over a bowl. Toss to combine and set aside for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in an oven-safe 8-inch skillet (I used cast iron). When butter is foamy, add the onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender. Stir in the corn and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to thoroughly combine. Stir in milk, stirring until thickened.
Scrape mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the drained squash and tomatoes and three-quarters of the cheese. Season generously with ground black pepper and mix well. Return mixture to the skillet and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and combine it with the crushed cheese crackers. Scatter the buttered crumb mixture over the casserole.
Bake 20 to 30 minutes until the squash is tender and the top is browned.
Makes 4 (side-dish) servings.
Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 240 calories, 9 g protein, 17 g fat, 15 g carbohydrate, 300 mg sodium and 2 g fiber.
Food on 08/21/2019