Harvesting squash in September’s kitchen

Our 3 squash plants have yielded 23 fruits this year so I’m trying to get creative with my recipes! Soup is always great to have in the freezer and I love adding some mashed squash into potato with some butter and herbs and giving it half an hour or so in the oven.

A couple of the fruits have split which was simply caused by the weather variations we’ve had this year so I’m using those straight away. Once the skins have gone hard and cured they’ll keep for a couple of months easily in our cool dark potting shed.

This recipe is the one that I cooked up at Malvern Autumn Show and RHS Harlow Carr Autumn Garden Weekend this month – it’s quick and easy and tasty too!

Grate the squash - web

Cheesy chilli butternut squash fritters with sage dip

Makes 8-10

1 egg

400g squash, grated coarsely

45g plain flour (gluten free works)

Tbspn fresh sage, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

S&P

80g strong white cheddar or mozzarella

Tbspn oil for frying

For the dip:

½ cup of Greek full fat yoghurt

1 good tsp runny honey

1 good tsp olive oil

1 dessertspoon chopped sage

S&P

  • Make the dip first so that it has time to develop its flavours – simply mix all the ingredients together and leave to stand
  • In a large bowl beat your egg then add in the grated squash, flour, cheese, herbs, garlic and S&P.
  • Mix together web
  • Stir well until everything is combined
  • Heat some oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and spoon in about a ¼ cup of the mixture into the pan. Flatten down with a spatula into a circular shape and tidy up the edges
  • shape web
  • Cook for about 4 minutes then carefully flip to cook the other side until golden brown. Transfer to a paper lined baking sheet and keep warm whilst you fry the remaining batter
  • finished web 2

Serve warm with the dip on the side or drizzled on top of the fritters

Try these as a bite sized fritter with a dollop of the dip on top as a party nibble or top with some garlic and herb cream cheese

The fritters freeze well or will keep in the fridge for a couple of days then simply reheat in a frying pan or the airfryer