Stuffed squash

Earlier this summer someone gave us a zucchini that resembled one of the Body Snatchers pods. I cut a third of it off and shredded it. After making a double batch of zucchini bread, as well as still having a generous pint of shredded zucchini, I figured I had better come up with something for the remaining two thirds of the monster.

So, I browned some ground beef, smoked some eggplant, chopped the eggplant finely, made a big trough in the zucchini, chopping the removed bits, sauteing the eggplant and zucchini with a diced onion, seasoned the whole thing with spices, put it in the zucchini and baked it. It was good, but needed a little refinement.

The other day we were once again the recipients of free squash. I assumed that it was of the summer squash family. It wasn't. I had to scoop out stringy stuff with seeds, and spent quite a bit of time thinning the walls. Fantastic squash, by the way. It worked better than the zucchini.

I did the same basic treatment (I had smoked a couple of eggplants the other day, so they were ready to go).

First, I oiled the sqaushes with EVOO and started their baking in a 400 degree oven.

I chopped up the squash that had been removed from the walls.

I browned some ground beef (two pounds was more than enough for two squashes) and transfered (without draining, you Puritanical perverts. Sheesh. Down the drain with the best parts?!? Not on your life) the meat to a work bowl. Then the squash got the treatment in olive oil (EVOO, natch), with late additions of garlic and the chopped eggplant.

Into the bowl. Then a diced onion: translucent. Bowl gets dumped back into skillet.

Then the seasonings:

Big pinch of dried oregano
Pinch of dried mint
Lots of cinnamon
Lots of cumin
Half a teaspoon of sweet pimenton
Generous pinch of lavender blossoms
Sprinkle of turmeric
Dash of allspice
Pinch of fennel seeds
A dash of the secret ingredient (I will give you a hint: it contains anchovies and tamarind and comes from England)
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

When it all tasted right, the stuffing went into the squash shells and the whole thing went into the oven.

We ate it with a green salad with organic, heirloom, vine-ripened (what did you expect? Oh, I decided to save ten cents and go buy factory farmed wretch bombs at the Unsafeway? Give me a break) tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and pecorino romano shavings. I served a Rhonesque California table wine from Soledad called Red Flyer (one of the Trader Joe's staples).