La Festa al Fresco: A Farmers Market Bounty
Monday, September 4th, 2006We come bearing tasty gifts from the Portland Farmers Market!
Oh, yes I know, we’re last minute (yet again), but allow me to explain. See, Friday, we had every intention of participating in this month’s Paper Chef. We tossed ideas about — meat pies and paté for the most part — and briefly considered calling up an unsuspecting relative to take over their kitchen for a weekend afternoon (our current kitchen access being spotty, at best). But then, Saturday morning, everything changed.
Saturday morning, we went to the Portland Farmers Market.
And at the Portland Farmers Market, one is generally not lured in by such things as fermented black soy beans and giblets, two of this month’s Paper Chef foursome.
No, indeed. Instead, we heard the siren call of maitake mushrooms, patty pan squash, and glorious, fat leeks for a dollar a piece.
(Okay, so we didn’t exactly hear the call — the market is rather noisy and what with that odd band playing some sort of world beat, syncopated version of the 70’s disco hit “Ring My Bell,” well, the quiet voices of vegetables and fungi were completely drowned out. But boy did they look good!)
So we brought them home, stashed them away near last week’s Moreland Farmers Market purchase of Pale Blue Ewe from the Black Sheep Creamery in Southern Washington, and were promptly distracted by household and family issues.
That is, until tonight when Chopper announced he was going to make goat cheese stuffed patty pans with crispy pan fried leeks and sautéed maitake mushrooms. (And, after a quick and boisterous exclamation of YUM, I scampered to the computer, double-checked the date and the rules and declared: Hey! This is perfect for Festa al Fresco!)
So, to Ivonne and Lis, I hope we’re not too late to join the party! Chopper finished our dish just as the sun lost itself behind the giant elms and maples to the west, but the hazy summer light lingered long enough for me to snap a few shots out on the porch railing of our current, temporary abode. Look! There’s even a tree in the background. Perfect for a picnic!
Roasted, Stuffed Patty Pan Squash
Ingredients
- 4 Patty Pan squash
- 1/4 cup Black Sheep Creamery “Pale Blue Ewe” cheese, grated
- 8 ounces Chevre, any flavor
- 1/2 cup Panko
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Take the squash and trim the blossom end in order to make a level platform for them to sit on. Then hollow out the top with a Parisian scoop (a.k.a melon-baller).
- Mash the chevre and the blue cheese together in a small bowl. When they are thoroughly combined, stuff the cheese blend into the hollowed out squashes, mounding it high.
- Combine panko, parmesan, paprika, thyme, and pepper in a bowl. Then coat the squash with oil and dip the cheese into the breading mixture.
- Place breaded squash onto a parchment-covered sheet pan and into the oven. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve with crispy, pan fried leeks, and sautéed maitake mushrooms.













