Unless you have home made tomato sauce, canned tomatoes work best here, especially if you have good Italian San Marzanos. Otherwise, just use your favorite. Be sure to use a really big pan for sautéing the squash, or do it in batches. If the squash is crowded it will steam and just get mushy.
INGREDIENTS:
1½ pounds (3-4 cups) summer squash, cut into ¾ to 1 inch pieces ½ large white or yellow onion, cut into ¼ inch dice 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, with juice (preferably San Marzanos) 6-8 fresh basil leaves, shredded -OR- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped fine, or ½ tablespoon dried ½ tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped fine, or ¼ tablespoon dried Olive oil as needed Salt and pepper to taste -Optional- Parmesan cheese for garnish, to taste per individual
METHOD:
Toss squash with enough oil to coat.
Heat a straight sided sauté pan or chef’s pan over medium heat, then generously film pan bottom with oil. When hot, add onions and toss to coat. Sauté until “clear”. While onions cook, use fingers to break up the tomatoes, saving all the juice. Add the garlic and cook until softening and aromatic. Add half the herbs, then the tomatoes and their juice. Cook over medium heat, tossing and stirring to break down the tomatoes. Add the rest of the herbs and simmer over low heat. Season with salt and pepper.
While breaking down the tomatoes, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When hot, film the bottom liberally with oil. Season the squash aggressively with salt and pepper.
When oil is almost smoking, add enough squash to fill the pan in one layer and not be super crowded. This is to promote browning and avoid steaming.
Sauté the squash chunks to color the cut sides golden brown, lightly blistered in places. When the squash is well colored but not soft, pull from the pan and finish the rest of the squash. Hopefully you have a large enough pan to do this in one fell swoop.
When all squash is browned, add it all into the sauté pan and pour the tomato sauce over the squash, simmering until the squash is tender (but not falling apart or mushy).
Scatter with Parmesan cheese if you wish, or pass separately as you serve the squash hot.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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