Recipe: Flying Squashers with Vegetable Ragout

I got some yellow patty pan squash (which are MUCH better than the white ghostie ones, in my opinion) in my CSA box last week. My first thought was that they look like flying saucers! My second thought was to call them “flying squashers”. This is beyond amusing to me, just like making up the word (or so I thought) “squasage“. Heheheh!

Patty Pan Squash – Sooo cute and super versatile!

When you get a CSA box or splurge on all the great looking veggies at the market, a great way to use up a ton of veggies in one shot is to make a ragout. The word ‘ragout’ is French for ‘stew’. It’s a very high level, general term that can be applied to anything. And there is something really fun about pairing a French word with the term ‘flying squasher’.

I make this ragout all the time; it’s very flexible – just chop up and throw in whatever you have wilting in the veggie drawer that plays well with the other veggies. The patty pan squash add a cute touch of playfulness and color, and throw in whatever meat you got lying around (I always keep pre-cooked Apple & Chicken sausages as a quick and easy after work protein source).

Flying Squasher in all it’s glory

Print Recipe

Flying Squashers with Vegetable Ragout

Flying Squashers with Vegetable Ragout

Ingredients

• 6 Heirloom Tomatoes keep seeds/liquid!
• 5 stalks Celery
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 4 Gypsy Peppers can use bell peppers
• 0.25 heads Purple Cabbage
• 0.5 cups Chicken Stock
• 4 Sausages Choice
• 4 Yellow Patty Pan Squash

Instructions

• Heat saute pan to medium high heat, add olive oil
• Add in all your vegetables (no sausage yet) and let simmer down/saute for at least 15 minutes, stirring infrequently. If your tomatoes are not super juicy, slowly add chicken stock to keep the vegetables from sticking to the bottom
• While waiting for the ragout to simmer down, cut your patty pan squashes in half length wise and scoop out the seedy flesh with a melon baller or spoon. I also trimmed the top/bottom of the squashes to remove the stem area.
• Microwave the squash for about 5 minutes. They will become very tender/soft.
• Liberally salt and pepper your ragout and let cook for at least 35 minutes, until all veggies are soft and tender
• Add in sausage and let simmer for another five minutes
• Serve by placing bottom half of squash on the plate, spoon ragout into the 'squash bowl' and then place the top of the squash on top to make a flying squasher!

Vegetable Ragout – isn’t it pretty?