Summer squash with cheese sauce is the perfect summer side dish. Made from inexpensive ingredients, this dish provides important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. However, making it does require a little knowledge and the willingness to commit two pans to the dish. When you take your first bite, you'll see that it was worth it.
Frugal Food
Summer squash with cheese sauce is an excellent choice for those with tight food budgets. Squash plants produce many squashes each, in-season squash is very inexpensive, and you may not, reports author Selene Yeager, have to pay for it at all if there's a gardener your neighborhood. Ingredients for the cheese sauce, such as flour and milk, are also easy on your pocket-book. Cheese is a bit more expensive, but if you use high-quality cheeses such as aged cheddar, you won't need much.
Nutrition
Summer squash with cheese sauce can be as good for you as it is good for bank account. According to the University of Illinois, summer squashes provide vision-boosting vitamin A, fiber, folate, and potassium. Cheese and milk, the primary ingredients of cheese sauce, provide protein for strong muscles and resilient bones. Calcium, according to chef Alton Brown, may also help you maintain a healthy weight by regulating your body's metabolism.
Sample Recipe
To make a simple summer squash, you'll need 1 tbsp. olive oil, ¼ tsp red chili flake, 2.5 cups of unpeeled, chopped yellow crookneck or straight-neck squash, 1 tbsp. of butter, 1 tbsp. of flour, 1 cup of low-fat milk, and ¼ cup of high-quality grated hard cheese, such as aged white cheddar. Add the red chili flake to the oil and allow to sit for 15 minutes. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the squash in the oil until it is just tender. In another skillet, heat the butter until melted, whisk in the flour, and then whisk in the milk. When the sauce has thickened and all lumps have dissolved, add the cheese and whisk until melted. Serve over warm squash.
Cooking Tips
You do not have to use yellow squash to make this recipe. Using green squash, such as zucchini, adds a nice color contrast with the milky cheese sauce. However, because zucchini contains more moisture than yellow squash, you may want to grate the zucchini and squeeze it in a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel before proceeding with the recipe. Dicing the zucchini, sprinkling it with salt, and allowing it to sit for half an hour also pulls excess moisture out of the this summer squash.
References
- "The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies"; Selene Yeager; 2006
- University of Illinois Extension : Watch Your Garden Grow
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