Summer Squash Pancakes

We have been getting so much summer squash from the CSA lately! Sure, we’ve made stuffed squash with dairy and meat, and jibben and carpaccio, but don’t worry, we haven’t run out of ideas yet!

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Zucchini Carpaccio

I have to admit that I don’t get any magazine subscriptions. Not even food ones. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like to look at their holiday-themed and seasonal ingredient inspired meals! So I look at the Gourmet and Bon Appetit archives on epicurious. When I had some squash that I knew wouldn’t last long (I don’t even remember why I bought it) I browsed through some recipes until I found this and although it interested me enough to add to my recipe box, I needed to make a lot of changes.

Mehshi B’Laban, or Stuffed Squash, Dairy Style

I bought some giant zucchinis at the farmer’s market last week and wanted to make something special with them. This recipe gets its delicious flavor from butter, and is traditionally made with long grain white rice. I made a healthier version with less butter and brown rice. It had a delicious, nutty flavor.  The recipe calls for slender zucchini, which probably would have been better than the fat ones I found. Make sure you scoop them out very well so the zucchini cook through.

Kusa Jibben

Remember when we made mehshi kusa and hollowed out all of that squash and zucchini? You didn’t think we’d just waste those precious insides, did you? Of course not. We popped those insides in the freezer for later use. And then gave them to our mom so she could make kusa jibben for lunch.

Kusa Jibben is a classic Syrian dish; kusa, as you know, means squash, and jibben is cheese. So basically it’s squash and cheese.

Mehshi Kusa, or Meat-Filled Zucchini and/or Squash

Mehshi kusa (koo-SAA) is a traditional Syrian dish. In order to stuff the squash, you first need to hollow them out with a melon baller. Ideally the shells will be very thin. After hollowing out the vegetables, you stuff them with hashu and cook them in a Middle-Eastern-style sauce.