Patty Pans are a new discovery for us. It’s the first year we’ve grown these petite summer squash on the allotment and they’re proving to be extremely prolific; Ade comes home from the plot with handfuls of them, and they’re quite something to look at!

Because of their compact size and shape, they easily lend themselves to stuffing and, unlike some other varieties of squash, only take 20 mins in the oven. Here’s a scrummy way to cook them, by cramming them full of sweet cherry tomatoes, caramelised slivers of onion and creamy goats’ cheese.

 

 

PATTY PAN STUFFED WITH ROASTED TOMATOES AND GOAT’S CHEESE
Prep Time: 10 mins  Cooking Time: 40 mins Serves: 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

Ingredients

4 small patty pan squash
150g cherry tomatoes
1 small onion
50g pine nuts
100g goats’ cheese
Handful of basil leaves
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan).

Cut the onion into thin wedges and place in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 mins.

Add the cherry tomatoes and pine nuts to the tray, ensuring everything in well-coated in the seasoned oil, and roast for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut off the tops of the patty pan squash and put them to one side. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Brush the squash with some oil, inside and out, and place in an oven dish.

Take the roasted vegetables out of the oven and tip everything into a bowl. Crumble in the goats’ cheese and sprinkle over the torn basil leaves. Give everything a good stir before spooning the mix into the hollowed squash. Ensure the squash are well-stuffed with the filling before placing the lids back on and baking them in the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with salad.

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