Friedsquashpuffs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425˚. Brush a 24-cup mini-muffin pan (preferably nonstick) with olive oil. Evenly sprinkle the sugar on the bottom of each cup. Unfold the puff pastry on a work surface and cut into 24 equal squares with a sharp knife.
• Toss the squash with the olive oil, rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a bowl. Place 1 piece in each muffin cup (it's OK if some of the squash pieces extend above the top of the cups). Press about 1/2 teaspoon cheese on top of each squash cube. Cover each with a piece of puff pastry, tucking the edges into the muffin cups.
• Bake until the pastry is golden and puffed, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve squash-side up.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a deep, heavy skillet or deep fryer to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
• Place the squash in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and mash.
• In a bowl, mix 2 cups squash*, onion, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, corn muffin mix, baking powder, and salt. Thoroughly blend the squash mixture into the flour mixture.
• Drop the squash and flour mixture by rounded tablespoons into the hot oil, and fry until evenly brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 225°F. Peel the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, and cut each half in 3. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until they're completely tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. To check doneness, take a piece out of the pot and cut it at the thickest part. It should sort of break apart and look dry inside. Taste it to be sure, then drain the potatoes well, spread them on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven for 15 minutes to dry completely.
• Pass them through a sieve or food mill into a medium bowl and set them aside. If you'll be cooking the puffs as soon as the dough is ready, leave the oven on so that you can keep batches warm as you fry.
• Meanwhile, make the pâte à choux: In a medium saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil with the butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the flour all at once, turn off the heat, and stir with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated. Return the pan to very low heat and stir for a few minutes until the dough forms a ball and a cooked film begins to develop in the saucepan. Let the dough cool for a couple of minutes, and stir in one of the eggs. The dough will fly apart into seemingly irreconcilable blobs, but do not lose heart; keep stirring, and it will become one again, I promise.
• Beat the other egg in a small bowl and begin to stir it in-you may not want to add all of it in the interest of dryness. Stop adding egg when the dough becomes elastic, smooth, and shiny, and then stir in the potato and garlic paste and mix thoroughly. The dough will be very sticky.
• In a heavy saucepan or skillet, heat 2 to 3 inches of frying oil to 325°F, or until it is shimmery, not smoking, and a tiny dollop of the dough dropped in sizzles energetically, but does not scare you out of the kitchen. Carefully drop a walnut-size piece of dough into the oil to fry for a taster. Taste and adjust for salt and . . . more garlic? . . . cooked longer? There are two ways to proceed with frying: (1) load the dough into a pastry bag, squeeze out short lengths, and cut them off and into the oil with a knife or scissors, or (2) use two spoons to form and scrape dollops into the oil. Fry the puffs until they're golden brown, prodding them with a spider to roll them over and fry the other side as needed.
• Dip them out to drain on a rack or crumpled paper and keep them warm in the oven (without the paper, if that's what you're using) as you fry the rest.
• Notes
• Instead of serving the potato puffs alongside fish, meat, chicken, or beans, make them for a pre-dinner aperitivo that you stand around eating in the kitchen while you fry the next batch.
• In spring, if green garlic stalks are available, thinly slice, rinse, and cook one in butter and a very little bit of salted water. When it's tender, drain and add it to the mix in place of the pounded garlic.
• Add chopped chives, parsley, or thyme, or Parmesan or other gratable aged cheese to the dough.
• Potato-puff- frying oil can be strained and saved, refrigerated, to reuse for up to a week.

Steps:

• Combine the cooked squash and egg, stirring well.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt, stir well.
• Add squash mixture and onion; stir until blended.
• Drop squash mixture by level tablespoonful into hot oil.
• Cook until golden brown, turning once. Drain well on paper towels.

Steps:

• Use your fingers to carefully dig a hole on the side of the zucchini flower, opening it enough to dig out with you pointer the pollen stem that is inside. Gently rinse the flowers under a sprinkle of cold water, paying attention not to damage the thin petals, then lay on a rag and pat dry.
• Fill a piping bag with the ricotta cheese and pipe 2 to 3 tablespoons of the ricotta into each flower. Twist the petals to close tightly so the cheese doesn't escape during frying.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, parsley, a couple of generous pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Slowly start pouring the beer into the mix, using a whisk or a fork to make the batter; mix to eliminate any lumps.
• Add the vegetable oil to the bottom of a heavy skillet until it comes up the sides 2 inches, making sure the oil is not more than halfway up the sides. Heat the vegetable oil until hot.
• Dip the filled flowers through the batter then carefully add to the hot oil. Fry, flipping halfway through frying, until the blossoms are golden and crisp, 2 minutes.
• Remove and place on a large dish lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt to taste while still hot.

Steps:

• cut squash and remove seeds.
• roast squash at 345 degrees F 30-40 minutes.
• mix squash and all other ingredients.
• drop into hot oil till brown and yummy.

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the squash, egg and onion. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt; add to squash mixture and mix well. , In an electric skillet, heat 1/4 in. of oil to 365°. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil. Fry, a few at a time, for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden, turning often. Drain on paper towels.