Sautéed Summer Squash with Basil and Parmesan

This time of year, yellow summer squash is everywhere — overflowing in both our gardens and farmers markets. This versatile and easy-to-cook vegetable can be grilled, roasted, air fried, served raw, sautéed, and more. A quick pan-sear in a hot skillet is our current favorite approach and one we hope you’ll try too. Here’s how.

Yellow squash has a slightly rounder bottom and thinner neck than its summer squash sidekick, zucchini, but you cut it the exact same way. Just trim off the stem end and then slice or dice into rounds or cubes. When it comes to rounds, you will have varying sizes (you could halve the larger rounds to get similar sizes, but it sort of all works out when you get the squash into the pan). The smaller rounds might be a touch more tender, but the varying textures can be nice — the best food isn’t always perfect, especially at home, despite what restaurant chefs might say. 

Now that the squash is prepped, here is how you cook it! 

1. Preheat the pan & add fat: Start by preheating the pan. It should be hot enough that the food starts to sizzle and cook right away, which usually takes about two minutes. Before you add the squash, heat the fat in the pan. For extra flavor, we use cook the sliced squash in both oil and butter, although this recipe can be prepared with just olive oil if desired. The idea behind using both is that the oil helps prevent the butter from burning over the higher heat and the butter contributes nutty, rich flavor.
2. Do not overcrowd the pan: Add the sliced squash to the pan and season it right away with salt and pepper. You can add more seasoning later to taste, but for now, use just enough so it has some time to soak in. Resist the temptation to overcrowd the pan. There should be enough slices to cover the bottom of the pan with a bit of overlapping, but not much more; otherwise you will end up with steamed rather than sautéed squash. 
3. Cook, tossing, then check for doneness: Cook, tossing the squash a few times to make sure every piece has a bit of undisturbed time touching the bottom of the pan. Once the squash is golden and tender, it’s done!
4. Add more flavor: The pan-seared squash is tasty on its own, but it becomes a more cohesive dish with the addition of complementary flavors. Push the squash to the side of the skillet and add minced garlic to the other side along with red pepper flakes, cooking until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Toss to combine, remove from the heat, and finish with toasted nuts for crunch, chopped herbs and lemon juice for brightness, and Parmesan for a salty kick.

Yes, absolutely! They’re no need to waste the pretty skin by peeling it. It adds a beautiful pop of color to the plate.