Southern Classics: Squash Casserole Recipe

Squash Casserole. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 I can't imagine a Thanksgiving table without a squash casserole. This Southern standard is warm and rich and filling, like a good side dish should be. I've tried lots of recipes, from the soup can variations to Paula Deen's, and while they are all good, I gotta tell you, this one is the best. It's from Aunt Fannie's Cabin, a restaurant formerly located in Smyrna, Georgia, using the recipes of a freed slave who stayed after the war to cook for her family.

Aunt Fannie's Cabin Squash Casserole


3 pounds summer squash
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup saltine crumbs
Sugar, about a teaspoon, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Additional saltine crumbs for topping

1. Heat oven to 375. Rinse squash and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices. In a medium saucepan, combine vegetables and pour over water to cover. Cook until both are tender. Drain thoroughly, pressing out excess water with back of spoon, and mash together.

2. Combine mixture with half of the melted butter, the cracker crumbs, eggs, sugar (if using), salt and pepper. Pour into a greased casserole dish.

3. Top with remaining butter and sprinkle with additional cracker crumbs. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer. 

Summer Squash Soup

Summer Squash Soup with Thyme by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

They're here! I waited patiently through January's snowstorms and April's terrifying thunderstorms and now the lazy, hazy days of summer are finally here. Well, with two active kids, we're not really lazy, but we're certainly more relaxed. No setting of alarms to get us out of bed before the sun rises, no afternoon carpool lines at the school. It's time to enjoy the summer and all the good stuff that comes with June: flip-flops, Mary Kay Andrews' beach books, and farmers' market tables full of produce. At my local farmers' market, I pick up a big ol' bag of yellow crookneck squash and make this only-in-summer soup. Some folks may think soup is just for wintertime, but I eat it all year long. This pureed soup reminds me of squash casserole, but without the cream-of-whatever soup and stale cornbread dressing crumbs. It's summer in a bowl.

Summer Squash Soup

 1 1/2 pounds summer squash

1 medium yellow onion, preferably Vidalia, peeled and roughly chopped

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 sprigs fresh thyme or lemon thyme

4 to 6 cups water

1/2 cube vegetable bouillon, such as Knorr, see note below

1 cup cream or half-n-half


1. Wash and peel summer squash, roughly chop and set aside.

2. In a soup pot, melt butter. When foaming, add onion and cook until melted and soft, but not brown. Add squash and continue cooking until soft.

3. Add enough water to cover vegetables. Season with vegetable boullion, two thyme sprigs, salt and pepper, going easy on the salt. I like a lot of pepper in this soup.

4. Let cook for about 20 minutes until vegetables are very tender and broth is flavorful. Using a slotted spoon, remove the thyme sprigs and discard. Scoop up vegetables and puree them in a food processor or blender. Stir puree back into the seasoned broth in the pot and heat over a gentle flame. Thin soup with cream or half n half. Season to taste and serve with a thyme garnish.

Note: I keep vegetable bouillon cubes on hand to add depth of flavor to soups and sauces. You could substitute chicken or vegetable broth for the water and bouillon, or simply use water. As the kids say, it's all good.

Summer Squash Soup with Thyme by Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

Text and images copyright 2011, Lucy Mercer.

A Simple Soup

I made this squash soup a few weeks ago when the Farmer's Fresh CSA box was loaded with squash, and a colleague offered me some fresh squash from her parents' garden. I love soup, I can't say it any fancier than that, I just love soup, so I made the Puree of Yellow Crookneck Squash Soup from Scott Peacock's opus, Gift of Southern Cooking. The soup is very simple -- sliced squash is cooked with onion and butter until just tender, then combined with chicken stock and pureed. I skipped the suggested finishing touches of cream and nutmeg, because I love a rustic-textured soup. And,of course, tasty fried lardons of bacon kind of dress up whatever they're sprinkled on. I served the soup with bacon biscuits and fresh fruit for dessert. It doesn't get any simpler than that.