brown sugar and sesame zucchini and summer squash

Food co-op members, consider this entry my small part in our ongoing fight to consume all our summer squash and zucchini. A small but powerful weapon against excess zucchini!


sesame oil and brown sugar glazed zucchini and summer squash

My dad came up with this dish last summer when we were trying to get rid of a squash surplus. I'm facing the same mass quantities of zucchini this year, so when I remembered this dish, I had to make it. I had tried once before, but ended up switching gears midway through and wound up with an overly salty stir fry of sorts. This time, I committed to the brown sugar and sesame, and was much more satisfied.

There really isn't much to this dish. Slice the zucchini and squash into thin rounds, drizzle with sesame oil and brown sugar, season with salt and pepper, and bake until soft. You can also add a little butter, but I forgot to and did not miss it. This may be simple, but it's a nice tasty side dish, and it's certainly a bit out of the ordinary. I make mine in the toaster oven to avoid heating up my whole kitchen, but it would obviously work in the real deal as well.

I don't really have much to add, except to say that this might be even better if you tossed the squash and other ingredients in a bowl to get full and even coverage. Sesame oil is very strong, so a little goes a long way, but you have to spread it around. One small drop is all each round needs to give the dish a pleasant sesame taste.