Summer squash and corn casserole

When I married my husband, I inherited a whole new repertoire of family recipes.  My father-in-law's ancestors settled in southern NJ, farmed the land for generations and their family tree has deep roots and many branches. Old farm recipes, skills and techniques have been passed down from mother to daughter. Some years ago, my mother-in-law put together a family cookbook filled with the most beloved recipes from multiple generations. On a recent family visit to New Jersey, Jason's Aunt Sandy made one of her favorites, a lovely summer squash casserole.

August is prime time for summer produce. The most perfect and flavorful zucchini, tomatoes, corn, peaches and all manner of fruits and veggies adorn the tables of farmers markets across the city. Grocery store prices on summer produce are as low as they'll get all year. One of Jason's favorite recipes in the family cookbook is his grandmother's pickle recipe, which is made with sliced zucchini. He came home from the store with about 6 pounds of zucchini and yellow squash, made a dozen jars of pickles and had some squash left over. He had the family cookbook open to the pickle recipe and on the next page was the recipe for Aunt Sandy's summer squash casserole.  It was meant to be. 

Before I go any further, I'll just apologize in advance for jacking with this family recipe. I know its a perceived sin to screw around with a beloved recipe and I know I run the risk of insulting Aunt Sandy by doing it my way. I also know that I'm going to come off as a food snob when I say this, but the recipe includes an ingredient that I just can't bring myself to buy - canned cream of chicken soup. With the exception of canned New England clam chowder, I have a visceral dislike of canned cream soups. Canned cream of mushroom soup is one of the most horrifying, revolting things I can imagine eating. My parents loved the stuff and I remember tasting it as a kid and shuddering with disgust. Yet it is a very common ingredient and when I ate Aunt Sandy's squash casserole, I had no idea there was cream of chicken soup in it. Despite my aversion, the dish is delicious just as Aunt Sandy made it, but given a choice between using a highly processed canned item or making it myself, I'll choose the latter. I'm sorry, Aunt Sandy, but instead of canned cream soup, I made my own bechamel sauce, which also allowed me to control the seasoning a little better. I had some leftover ears of corn in the fridge and since I'd already changed the recipe, I figured it wouldn't hurt to add the corn too.  

SUMMER SQUASH & CORN CASSEROLE:

For the bechamel sauce:

2 cups milk

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp butter

1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

2/3 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt

salt, pepper, cayenne, a couple grates of nutmeg or any other seasonings you might like. 

For the topping:

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tbsp melted butter or olive oil

salt, pepper or any herbs or spices you like. I used a little fresh thyme

For the filling:

3 medium yellow squash, cubed

Half a white onion, chopped

2 ears of corn, kernels removed

1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

I prepared the squash and onions exactly as the recipe stated. I quartered the squash, cut them into chunks, put a medium chop on the onion and boiled them in lightly salted water until they just started to soften. I drained them and put them into a big mixing bowl. I cut the corn off the cob and added it to the squash. Next I turned my attention to the bechamel sauce. A bechamel sauce is basically milk or cream thickened with a roux, which is butter and flour cooked together. I put the butter and flour in a small saucepan over medium heat to make the roux. I cooked the butter and flour together for just a few minutes, then poured in the milk and whisked it to break up any lumps. In order the get the sauce to thicken, it has to come to the boil and it can burn very easily so it needs to be stirred constantly. Once the sauce thickened, I added the spices and cheese off heat and let it cool a bit while I made the topping. 

I like to moisten my bread crumbs with a little butter or olive oil before topping the casserole, which helps the topping brown in the oven. In a small bowl I tossed the bread crumbs with the oil or butter and a pinch of salt and pepper. Finally, it was time for assembly. Aunt Sandy uses sour cream in her recipe, but I just happened to have Greek yogurt, so I whisked it into the bechamel sauce, poured it over the squash, threw in the rest of the grated cheese and mixed it all together. I spooned the squash mixture into a buttered casserole dish and it looked pretty soupy and loose. I was concerned about my proportions and thought my sauce to vegetable ratio may result in a runny casserole. Nobody likes a runny casserole. But I forged ahead, topping it with the breadcrumbs and baking it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. It was bubbling beautifully at the edges and I set it on the counter to cool a bit before digging in.  

The casserole was delicious. It had firmed up perfectly and was creamy without being runny at all. The predominant flavor was yellow squash with the corn playing a sweet supporting role. I changed the recipe so much that it really isn't Aunt Sandy's squash casserole anymore. Its something new and unique, yet still familiar. This is the art of great cooking - interpreting a recipe, respecting its origins then putting your own spin on it. Inspiration comes from many places and this time it popped out of a family cookbook. Always keep your taste buds open to new ideas!