Roasted yellow squash

[Sprout]

All this talk about roasting got me thinking. I'm planning my Mother's Day dinner. (Yes, I'm cooking it myself. DH has finals the following week and isn't much of a cook anyway.) I want to keep things simple, but tasty. My favorite produce place already has some decent-looking yellow squash out already. I was thinking about slicing up some spring onions and tossing them, yellow squash, and scallops with some evoo, minced fresh garlic, herbs, roasting the lot and serving it over pasta with some freshly grated parmesan.

I've never roasted summer squash before, but I've sauteed it plenty of times and I know it cooks pretty quickly. If I leave it in larger chunks, can i get away with roasting it with the scallops? Or will it still be mush by the time the Scallops are done? I can roast them separately, but that means more work on my Mother's Day. Any suggestions on how large the chunks should in comparison to the scallops? (I haven't bought the scallops yet, so I'm looking for suggestions like, "about the same size" or "about twice the size" or "half the size"). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Sprout I chunk squash to one inch cubes, mix some olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and a little honey. Toss the chunks in the marinade then roast in a very hot oven. When they are done I then pan sear the scallops for about 1min a side if they are big ones.

 

[Selkie]

I'm sure that others here will give you a different answer, but when I'm confronted with roasting/baking a vegetable I'm not familiar with, I test it.

Using an aluminum cake pan for a roasting pan, I cut up one vegetable in-question into different sizes. (For me, it's recently been rutabagas and turnips.) Sprinkle with olive oil, bake at 350 and test for tenderness each 15 minutes. This way I know for certain how long it will take in my particular oven and temperature setting.

 

[CraigC]

You might be better off cutting them in half length-wise, removing the seeds and using a rack. Roast them skin side up. If you don't use a rack, they may just sit and steam in the liquid they release. They have a lot of liquid, like zucchini. The "hard" squash are much more dense with less liquid. I would be affraid that what ever size cube you might cut them into, they will shrink like the dickens.

Craig

 

[MyCrummyApartment]

Okay I am just NOT seeing the scallops/yellow squash/pasta as a great combination, however, if you will be doing them together - I would cook them separately. Not nec because of the squash, but more so because of the scallops which you will want to be perfect for service, otherwise it is all for not.

I would cook the scallops separately and lastly because they will only take a few minutes and you may even have to stand by the oven while doing so.

As for the squash... I would poach them in large cubes the night before and put them in the fridge just slightly under cooked. When near service, brush your oil and add your onions and grill under the broiler for 10 minutes or so, or until lightly browned. This way they have some shape, color and texture and you can season them separately. Having them done the night before also solves your issue of reducing work on MD. (For extra browning power use butter instead of oil - or at least some).

I would also consider finishing with some sweated spinach leaves and/or grape tomatoes because your pasta is going to need some color and contrast to bring it to life.

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to you and I hope it turns out FANTASTIC!

 

[Sprout]

Thanks for the tips! I now have a few days to play around with some squash. this meal is being pushed back to our anniversary as we just got ourselves some dinner guests for tomorrow night and seafood for everyone isn't in our budget at the moment.