Fried squash

Fried squash is a classic southern comfort food, and for good reason. These summertime vegetables produce so quickly from backyard gardens, that just one plant will give you more squash than you know what to do with. This recipe is a quick and simple way to deal with fresh garden summer/yellow squash.

In a grocery store, you will most likely encounter crookneck yellow squash. It has a shape more like a goard, skinny around the neck and wider at the bottom. You may also see yellow summer squash that look like yellow zuccini, they are the same width throughout. Either will work for this recipe, but I prefer the crookneck variety. When picking from your garden, or from the produce isle, pick a (crookneck) yellow squash that is no more than 3 inches in diameter at its widest. Bigger squash have more seeds, and can have bitter flesh. Since this recipe is so simple, the flavor of the squash will be front and center, so you want a smaller, sweeter vegetable. You also want the squash as fresh as possible. Fresh garden squash will be very firm and have little give. If you are harvesting from your garden, or buying from a farmer's market, there may be prickly little hairs on the squash which you will need to get rid of. Simply scrub your squash clean under running water, until the skin is smooth and prickle free!

Squash fresh from my sister's garden!

Now that you've selected your squash, it's time to cut it up. I have tried using a mandolin slicer before, but the slices are much too thin and when fried curl up, and all you can taste is the breading. Slice your squash about 1/4 inch thick. That's about the same thickness as a #2 pencil.

The next part is important (although it seems counter intuitive). You must pat dry your squash discs. I simply use a paper towel. If your squash (or whatever else you're frying for that matter) are wet before they're battered, the water left on it will turn to steam upon hitting the hot oil. This can cause big scary popping splatters, and will steam your squash instead of frying it. It can also interfere with the batter's ability to stay on the squash. If you don't pat dry your squash, your breading could fall off of your squash.

The easiest way to pat dry is to layer them on a paper towel, and use another paper towel on top to press dry.

Your breading station will be easy to put together. Simply fill a bowl with milk and set aside. Then mix together your cornmeal/flour mixture. The cornmeal makes your squash crunchy, and the flour or cornstarch helps bind the breading to it.

Now it's time to begin breading. Dip you squash into your milk, let the excess drip off. Then coat in cornmeal/flour mixture.

Dipped into milk (left) and then into cornmeal/flour mixture (right).

Put these straight into the oil. Let them fry for 3-5 minutes, until they are golden brown! Drain on a paper towel then eat right away! Since they are so thin, they get cold and soggy really fast!

We serve this family favorite alongside almost every dinner during the summer, when we can get it fresh from the garden!