I found the most beautiful, alien-looking patty pan squash at the market this week: little knobbly, pale green flying saucers, bright yellow miniature crooknecks, two-toned oblongs. They are such strange, lovely shapes it almost seemed a shame to cut them up and cook them. I spent a day just looking at them, trying to decide what recipe would do them justice.

I decided to make them into a warm salad with some feta, olives and lemon. This salad is great on it's own or heaped up on a crispy piece of toasted sourdough. Leftovers are really good tossed with some pasta or cooked wheat berries and arugula and keep really well as a pasts/grain salad. It lasts really well so you won't have to turn on the stove for a couple days if you make a big batch.

grilled patty pan squash salad:

1-2 pounds patty pan squash, halved
olive oil
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup kalamata olives
chili flakes
parsley, chopped
juice from one lemon

Brush patty pan with olive oil and grill on medium high heat on a BBQ or grill pan until dark grill marks appear. Flip and grill until all sides are browned. Toss with feta, olives, chili flakes, parsley and squeeze lemon juice over the top.

Serve heaped over toasted sourdough, rub the bread with half a clove of garlic after you toast it, or toss it into some pasta, or just eat the salad on it's own.

Kabocha is a type of pumpkin. I like it for its mild sweetness, fluffy and slightly powdery quality. I especially like to cube it and roast it until it's chewy and caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside. Lately I have been roasting up a whole squash on weekends and then popping the crispy little cubes into salads, over rice and onto pizzas all week. It pairs really well with sharp greens like arugula and a bit of salty, tangy cheese.

I'm not sure if the saucelessness of this pizza means it's maybe actually focaccia masquerading as pizza? It has no traditional sauce base, just some spicy, garlicky oil and a whole lot of arugula, which cooks down into a tasty goo underneath the cheese and squash. Anyway, maybe it's not a true pizza, but I feel weird saying I'm having focaccia for dinner, like eating an entire loaf of garlic bread for dinner or something. Which I would never do. But this is more substantial than a typical focaccia and has a deceptively large load of vegetables that make it a totally appropriate thing to eat for dinner. So it's a pizza I guess.

kabocha, goat cheese and arugula pizza:

1 batch pizza dough (below)
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup mozzarella, sliced or shredded
1/2 a medium kabocha squash, peeled (if you want), cubed and roasted until golden brown
a few big handfuls arugula, use more than you think you should
6 cloves garlic, minced
big pinch chili flakes
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs pine nuts, toasted

Preheat oven to the hottest setting, 500° or higher.

In a small bowl combine oil, garlic and chilli flakes. Set aside.

Stretch pizza to fit in a cookie sheet or onto a pizza stone if you have it. Brush with the garlic oil and top with the arugula in a big mound. It'll cook down a lot so use plenty. Sprinkle kabocha , cheeses and pine nuts on top and sprinkle a little salt and pepper over it all.

Cook pizza in hot oven until the cheese is blistered and brown, and bottom of crust is dark brown.

pizza dough

adapted from smitten kitchen

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Put flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and add water and oil. Stir until everything mostly comes together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a couple minutes. Lightly oil a bowl and place dough in the bowl, turning to coat dough with oil on all sides. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.