Crookneck squash (or yellow squash) is what we refer to when we say we are having squash for supper. All the other types get double names, like butternut squash or acorn squash, but not the yellow kind with the bulbous bodies and thin curving necks. They are just squash, and they are abundant right now in backyard gardens and farmers markets.
If you plant squash in the summer, you know what a bounty only a couple of seedlings yields. The plants spread out and run wild with large green leaves and magnificent five-pointed, edible, yellow blossoms. Its leaves are like umbrellas shielding the delicate skinned, daffodil-colored fruit from the sun. Yes, I did say fruit.
Botanically speaking, squash has seeds, so it is one of those vegetables-that-are-actually-fruits, like tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and the like. Calling squash a fruit wears me out a little, but, okay botanists, with your genus-species-variety nomenclature, I concede: by definition, squash is indeed a fruit.
Squash (yellow squash) looses flavor as it matures and its skin gets thick and bumpy. You want to harvest them young, when they are only a couple inches in diameter by no more than 5” to 6” long and the skin is still smooth and tender. Invariably, some go unseen, hidden beneath those great leaves I mentioned. And the ones undiscovered and left behind will be the size of a wooden bat in only a few days time and will taste only marginally better than one, so make sure to go for the little guys.
Squash is the standout in this chowder, which is surprising because it is paired with freshly shucked, cut from the cob, absolutely divine, sweet corn. Although squash is certainly loved, I think most of us take it for granted, certainly by the end of the season when we all have more than we know what to do with.
Summer corn, on the other hand, is revered.
With names like Silver Queen, Silver King and Devotion, Baldwin County, Alabama (where I live) is the king of sweet corn. People drive from neighboring towns and beyond for it, and everyone I know, myself included, stays half drunk on it from Memorial Day to mid-July. It is a delicacy.
I do not remember life before corn and squash. Their tastes are embedded in my earliest memories. I have others, like Grammy’s peas, her strawberries, her fig preserves—I was raised on what came out of her garden on Woodson Ridge in north Mississippi, just outside of Oxford. I grew up on the produce she grew all year round, thanks to her canning.
My sister and I, along with our four cousins, spent many afternoons throughout the summer with our grandmother shelling bushels of peas and shucking corn. Hours were marked by peals of screams following every uncovered worm wriggling in the corn silks, and each of us proudly showing off our inky fingertips from pressing out purple hull peas from their pods. We laughed and listened to Grammy tell stories about when our dad and our aunt and uncle were little.
With no screens or cell phones to take our attention, we ‘worked’ outside in the back of a pickup under a shade tree with a big fan that kept the gnats away. We took a break when Grammy said it was time to “go watch the World Turn,” which was the soap opera, As The World Turns, that aired during the hottest part of the day, but we were back at it after lunch.
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Maybe it is because there is always such an abundance of squash that it does not pain me to discard the middle bit, where the seeds are, that can often taste bitter and do nothing but add water, reduce the flavor and add a less than ideal texture to any squash dish. I know plenty of folks who include it all without a minute’s hesitation, but we always left that part out.
I cut up squash using the same method I watched the grownups use when I was young: Holding each squash in hand, I snip off both tough ends with my paring knife and slice the neck into small rounds. As I get to the thicker part, I slice into it more like I do with an apple and avoid getting too close to the seeds.
This chowder is one of the freshest, most summer-glorifying soups you can imagine. I make many versions of it during these weeks of prolific corn and squash harvests, and despite our days getting warmer, it never makes me hot. It is always refreshing.
As soon as you can get your hands on this season’s finest produce, you should give it a try.
Ingredients
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 1/2 pound yellow crookneck squash
2 ears of corn, shucked, silks removed
4 to 5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 to 2 fresh jalapeños, seeded, halved & sliced very thin
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
2 teaspoons salt, divided
Garnishes: Corn kernels (from a third ear of corn), squash, jalapeño, red bell peppers, sour cream, cilantro, a swirl of olive oil, crispy bacon—choose some or all.
Directions
- Place chopped onion in a soup pot with a swirl of olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Over medium heat, cover mostly and bring to a low simmer. Reduce heat and steam cook onions while preparing squash and corn. Check on them often as you want them translucent. Uncover once most of the water evaporates, stir in chopped garlic and turn off heat.
- Remove stem ends and tips from squash, then slice. I discard seedy middle parts.
- Prepare corn: Over a large bowl using a sharp knife, slice downward on the cob to remove just half the thickness of the kernels, then do the other end. Make a second pass to remove the rest of the kernel closer to the cob. Optional: “Milk” the cobs once kernels are removed by squeezing remaining juices into the bowl. (If using a third ear of corn for garnish—which I recommend—make sure to set that quantity aside).
- Over medium heat, add a swirl of olive oil to the pot of cooked onion along with chopped squash, corn (all but what is set aside for garnish), 1/2 teaspoon cumin and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir about 2 to 3 minutes until all is well combined.
- Add 2 cups water and bring to a low simmer. Cook until squash is very soft, then turn off heat.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, adding additional water if needed.
- Return to heat and add sliced jalapeño to taste and (optional) chopped red bell peppers, saving some for garnish. Cook over low heat about 5 to 7 minutes until peppers soften, but retain some texture.
- Adjust seasonings: add remaining cumin and additional salt to taste.
- Allow soup to rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
- Reheat to desired temperature when ready to serve.
