Some food, some drink.

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Abstract: Beta recipes are my own experiments that I've only tried once. Usually palatable, they often could be better with a little tweaking - So please do, and let me know what works!

I've got such a surplus of butternut squash from my garden right now, I can’t help but take a chance to concoct a new recipe. For this trial, we're seeing how butternut squash holds up in a fritter. Grated butternut squash is mixed with a multigrain batter that's gently spiced with cinnamon and allspice. The convergence is then fried in my trusty cast-iron skillet until crispy, brown, light and fluffy come to quorum.

Purpose: For the record, I've decided to give it a go with the Foodbuzz Project Food Blog Event. I'm not gonna go so far as to say, “I have what it takes to win this!” (do people really say that?), but the upcoming challenges look like fun, and I've always been one who'll tag along just because I might enjoy the ride. Lucky for me, the post I was writing anyway just happens to jibe with with this week's task, which is to post something that quintessentially defines my cooking and writing process.

I treat almost all of my cooking as an invitation to experiment, but if I have one culinary fault, it's that I have to keep my inner mad-scientist on a leash. My background is in science, and that's why my writing style is rooted in the scientific method. Scientific method is tailored to accommodate feedback. Although success is sexy and it gets you published, it's those unsung mistakes that you and your peers are looking to learn from. This idealism is fine, and trail and error is all-good; but in the kitchen, if you reach a point of diminishing returns, ain't no one gonna eat your mistake. In reference to meal time, people still gotta be fed; so practical needs to be the Batman to inventive's Joker. Here's a peek into my thought process for this recipe (please excuse the mess) -

“There's been a request for pancakes for dinner, but I wanna use this squash. I've done a lot of roasted and steamed butternut, so I'd rather not cook it that way again. Can I hide the squash in the pancakes? I shred squash for baked goods, so I s'pose I can do it for a griddle cake as well. Butternut squash is pretty much a pumpkin. If I use the same supporting flavors, I'm probably not gonna screw it up. ”

Truthfully, I can totally relate as to why most folks end up using steaming and roasting as the go-to methods for butternut squash preparation. There's nothing complicated or fussy about “Split it in half, scoop out the seeds and nuke for ten minutes.” Then again, there's nothing complicated or fussy about pancakes either; and essentially, a fritter is just a fried pancake with a whole mess of good stuff mixed-in. The batter here borrows its proportions from my favorite pancake recipe: a buttermilk flapjack recipe that's easily as old as I am. As the recipe pre-dates the Interwebs, I can't seem to find a reference beyond my copy, which originates from the back of a bag of Gold Medal Flour that was glued to the recipe card.

Observation:

• You'll want to use about half of a small squash to collect your batter mix-in. The easiest way to prep is to split the seedless end from the bulb, de-skin it with a serrated peeler, and show it the box grater.
• These are essentially fried muffins, so treat the ingredients accordingly. Dry, wet and garnish should all be mixed and bowled separately, and then brought together with wet going into dry and the grated squash being added after the wet+dry are just mixed (expect lumps).
• I reckon tablespoon-sized dollops of this stuff in a deep-fat fryer would be phenomenal, however I can't bring myself to deal with that much oil if I'm not cooking for a bus-load of people.
• If we're pan-frying, cast-iron is really the way to go, but I bet one of those electric skillets would probably work as well. Regardless, you'll need to maintain a quarter-inch of oil at around 350F. If the oil is smoking, you're too hot.
• In a 12-inch skillet, you'll probably only be able to fry three to four at a time. If you want everyone to eat at the same time, store the finished fritters on a wire rack set atop a sheet pan in a 200F oven.
• For additional mix-in options, I think some chopped walnuts or pecans would be good. Not feeling particularly vegetarian? Crumbled bacon or a small dice of smoky ham would likely rock.
• In the event of surplus, these will freeze. I've brought some back to life in the toaster oven. After about 15 minutes at 375F the crust returns to crispy and the middle is warm.

Results: I know raw butternut squash can be a bit hard to handle. In fact, I'm pretty sure it ranks between quartz and orthoclase feldspar on the Mohs hardness scale. Thus, I was a bit worried that the squash wouldn't cook through, given that these are only being shown the heat for about 8ish minutes. I'm happy to say my fears were unfounded, as the squash practically melted into the batter. In fact, I think that the extra structure from the grated squash actually helped to suspend the batter in a matrix that was responsible for the wonderful lift these buggers had.

In the spirit of how these fritters come together, I went ahead and treated mine like pancakes. Butter and a little maple syrup highlight the cinnamon and allspice, and make for a nice counterpoint to the crispy brown crust. These fritters have a lot going for them in the good-for-you department, but all the same, I had to keep telling myself I was eating dinner, not dessert. That lovely orange color of the squash comes courtesy of beta carotene; and with oats, wheat germ, flax, and whole wheat flour, the dry ingredient list reads like the labels on the bulk bins at the health food store. Regardless, all the whole grain and antioxidants in the world don't amount to squat if it doesn't get eaten. This experiment was most certainly tasty; so if you've never made them, don't let the word 'fritter' intimidate you. Get out your box grater, and make some pancakes.

Gallery:

To promote even cooking of our fritters, we need to even out the texture of the flax, oats, what germ, and whole wheat flour. Mini-prep to the rescue.

To promote even cooking of our fritters, we need to even out the texture of the flax, oats, what germ, and whole wheat flour. Mini-prep to the rescue.

Next, you'll need to grate your cheddar - wha?! Naw, just kidding. This is butternut squash. Fooled my wife though! Ain't that bright orange just sick?

Next, you'll need to grate your cheddar - wha?! Naw, just kidding. This is butternut squash. Fooled my wife though! Ain't that bright orange just sick?

For you zealous mixers, I thought a picture of the batter might be good so as to show you when to pump your brakes and put down the spoon.

For you zealous mixers, I thought a picture of the batter might be good so as to show you when to pump your brakes and put down the spoon.

You can just make out the grill grates underneath my skillet. As much as I heart my cast iron, I prefer to pan-fry on my gas grill so as to mitigate the…

You can just make out the grill grates underneath my skillet. As much as I heart my cast iron, I prefer to pan-fry on my gas grill so as to mitigate the mess.

For all intents and purposes, you're frying a muffin; illustrated here by the substantial amount of lift sustained by our fritter. Shortly after this photo…

For all intents and purposes, you're frying a muffin; illustrated here by the substantial amount of lift sustained by our fritter. Shortly after this photo was taken, that one on the far-right got eaten out of hand (I'm a sucker for a brown and crispy crust).

I finished my Multigrain Butternut Squash Fritters with the standard pancake dressing. Don't worry about getting 'em soggy; that crispy crust still holds…

I finished my Multigrain Butternut Squash Fritters with the standard pancake dressing. Don't worry about getting 'em soggy; that crispy crust still holds up.