Squash croquettes

This is, in my opinion, the "killer app" for squash, and for that matter, eggplant or even (sigh) zucchini.

As I said before, the basic way to cook (winter) squash is to split it, scoop out the seeds and make a great snack from the seeds. See below. Even if you don't think you like squash, you should try making the toasted squash seeds.

Then you have to deal with the squash itself. OK, so bake it, cut side up, having sprinkled it with olive oil, salt and pepper, and maybe some smoked paprika. (My version -- whatever spice you want is fine with me, but I personally would avoid any of the pumpkin pie versions, such as cinnamon. Because of what comes later.) There are lots of ways to eat cooked squash. This is my way.

When the squash is really really done, take it out and let it cool a bit. I'm not talking "fork tender" here, I'm talking, well, squishy squash. Spoon it out of the shell, which should be easy. If it isn't easy, put it back in the oven or stick it in the microwave for a minute or three. We're going for pulp here. You should be able to scrape it out of its skin and mush it with a fork into something like mashed potatoes.

The inspiration for this was an eggplant "meatball" I had in Italy. I think they called it something like a papillote. Anyway ...

Chop a scallion or some onion, depending on how much squash you have. I used about a third of an onion, minced very fine. Beat one egg and add. Add the squashed squash, and add some salt and pepper if you think you need to. Add paprika and some cayenne, if you wish. I did.

Roll into balls. They will seem wet, compared with typical meatballs. Not to worry.

Put a handful of crackers (about six saltines or the equivalent -- I used about 10 bite-sized Gorganzola crackers from Trader Joe's, because I had them) into a zipper bag. Squash them (ha-ha!). I like using a rolling pin, but you can do whatever lets out your aggression and creates crumbs. If you have a big squash, you might need to squish more crackers. You might even need more onion and egg. I was going with a medium sized squash.

Put the crumbs into a bowl and, one at a time, toss the squash balls in the crumbs. Use the bowl to roll them around. That is, put one croquette in the bowl and don't touch the croquette, move the bowl itself in a circular motion. You may be amazed how well this works at coating them evenly without getting the coating too thick -- better than trying to coat the squash balls by hand by rolling them in the bowl. Just roll the bowl around and let Nature do its job. As you finish each one, put it on a plate or board to keep handy. You could chill at this point, but these are too good to delay. We're almost done, anyway.

Heat a skillet (you know I love my cast-iron skillet for this) and add some oil. Let your conscience be your guide, but I would use at least 2 tablespoons for this.

When the oil is hot, put in the squashballs, oops, sorry, croquettes.. They will brown quickly, so be there to keep rolling them around every couple of minutes to brown them evenly.

That's it. You could make pasta or something to go with this, but you could serve them as hors 'd'oervres, too. They taste kind of like crabcakes without the crab, which, at some places, is what crabcakes taste like. These are better than that.

Obviously, because the inspiration was eggplant, you could make croquettes like this with cooked eggplant, or (I really hate to say this) even zucchini. And, yes, you could add or substitute any herbs or spices you like.