About Melting Summer Squash

Yes, the recipe has “zucchini” in its name. But, as I talk about in my All About Zucchini and Other Summer Squash post, you can substitute any of the other summer squashes. Second, once you make anything with melted summer squash, you’ll see how you can use this technique to make so many different dishes such as pizzas, pastas, and frittatas. Melting is my single favorite way to prepare summer squash. The reason is, as I also explain in my All About Zucchini and Other Summer Squash post, that summer squash is very high in water content. Melting sweats off much of the water, reducing the squash into something with much more flavor and giving it a rich and creamy texture. “Melting” describes the result more than it does the technique. The technique is to first grate the squash and then to sauté the squash in with either butter or olive oil and a pinch of salt until the result is reached. It should take between 15 and 20 minutes. You can also season the melted squash by infusing garlic or fresh rosemary into the olive oil used to sauté. Or you can add a teaspoon of dried thyme or oregano at the start of the sauté, or other chopped fresh herbs towards the end of the sauté. It’s also really nice with just that pinch of salt that went in at the beginning.

Making the Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

To make four grilled cheese sandwiches, you’ll start with about a pound of summer squash (that’s about 2 medium sized zucchini). For this recipe, I’d do the grating with a simple box grater. A food processor is an option, but the hassle of setting it up, cleaning it and putting it away isn’t worth the time saved over manual grating. When you see how big a one-pound pile of grated squash is, you may think this will never fit into four grilled cheese sandwiches. But the melting process will reduce the size by at least 50%.  Sauté the grated squash in either butter or olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. You want to be aggressive enough with the heat to speed the melting process and stir often enough to prevent any browning of the squash. As you stir, you should notice the water under the squash as the squash sweats. The releasing of water will slow and eventually stop. That’s when you are done. Expect 15 to 20 minutes total.

Now you have two options with the cheese, either grated or sliced cheese. If you go with sliced cheese, simply layer ¼ of the melted squash between the slices for each sandwich. If you go with grated, transfer the melted squash to a bowl, and use a spoon to spread the squash into a thin layer, allowing it to cool faster. When the squash is cool enough not to immediately melt the grated cheese, stir the eight ounces of cheese into the squash to form a uniform mixture of squash and cheese. Divide the mixture into quarters and use one quarter for each sandwich.

And what type of cheese? Whatever tasty, melty cheese you would normally use will work. I’m a fan of Hickory Grove from Chapel Hill Creamery. But many more common cheeses are great options: Monterey Jack, Gruyère, Havarti and Muenster are all great options. Mixing them up in a secret blend is also a fun way to go.

Finally, there’s nothing better to pair this sandwich with than Fresh Tomato Cream of Tomato Soup.