Fried Summer Squash

Last night I broke down and did something I don't do very often--I fried.

Two things--steak and squash. 

I love fried food--what self-respecting southerner doesn't--I mean, we'll take anything and batter it or roll it in cornmeal or flour and fry it, and I mean anything, from meat to vegetables to cheese to ice cream and candy bars.  I think I've even heard of fried twinkies, back in the days when twinkies were still around. 

Fried food is everywhere in the south, and I eat my fair share of it.  I just don't like to do it. Not because I'm all that health-conscious, although I should be more health-conscious, and shouldn't we all. 

No, I have to confess, I have no noble reason for not frying more food at home, I just despise the clean-up afterward.  Everything has to be dipped in so many things--water, eggwash, cornmeal, flour, batter, whatever, each requiring a seperate bowl.  And then the grease.  All over the stove.  And however good it may be in the moment, I feel like I can smell it in my kitchen for days afterward. 

But every now and then--especially this time of year, when it seems like all of the vegetables in the garden are starting to get ready all at once, we have a little "fry-fest".  More of a "fry-feast", actually.  Last week my mother had one, and we were invited.  She fried up a big ol' mess of zuchinni and squash, and we ate our fill of perfectly delcious healthy vegetables, rolled in seasoned cornmeal and flour, and fried to within an inch of their lives. 

It was delcious. 

We both make a much healthier version these days that we bake, but every now and then you just need to break down and do it the good old fashioned way.  

This week was my turn to go frying spree.  

I made southern fried steak, fried squash, and cooked-to-pieces green beans.  All home grown, too, even the beef. 

I'll share a little about the steak and green beans at another time, but this squash was so good, I have to give you this method.

Most of the time when you get fried squash, okra, etc, it's battered, and that's good, but my family tradition is to make it more very lightly breaded, and that's what I did.

Ingredients:

• yellow summer squash, sliced
• seasoned bread crumbs
• flour
• Tony Chachere's Seasoning or any good all-purpose seasoning
• oil for frying

Step 1:  Slice the squash.  I like mine farily thin, maybe 1/4 inch or less. 

Step 2: Wet--I just put all of the sliced squash in a bowl and filled it with water, then fished them out as I needed them.  You can use an egg wash instead of water if you want the breading thicker.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I just use water for a lighter breading. Because I was frying steak, tending to the green beans, etc, I opted for water instead of egg wash; egg wash tends to be a little messier in my opinion, and I try to not use it if I'm distracted by other things multi-tasking. 

Step 3: Bread--I used a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs, and flour I had previously seasoned with Tony Chachere's Seasoning blend.

Step 4: Fry--I used an all-purpose vegetable oil, heated to medium high. Cook until the squash reaches the desired brown-ness--probably two minutes or so.  (You can see that mine varied a bit)


Step 5: Drain.  If I'm making a large quantity, I try to put them on something that I can slip into the oven between batches to keep them hot. We ate these almost as quick as I got them out of the oil, but I managed to keep enough around for supper!

Note: You can bread these with almost anything--flour, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, or a combination of all of the above.  Egg wash makes it stick a little more.  I like battered ones, as well, I just don't have a recipe handy for that since I prefer breaded.  (Plus it's easier!)

Just another day in southern fried paradise!

Until next time, good cooking, and good eating...

This post is linked to:
Meatless Monday at My Sweet and Savory
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
In and Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big
BBQ Block Party at Easy Life Meal and Party Planning
Sweet & Savory Saturday at Dessert Now, Dinner Later