Cucuzza

Cucuzza (pron: Coo-coo-za)

is an Italian squash harvested in the US at the end of summer.

Cucuzza is usually grown on a trellis. This allows the squash to grow long and straight.

My family grew cucuzza on a standard fence. Sometimes the squash would touch the ground and when it did, it would curl. This is how you might find it sold at your local farmers market.

Here is a picture of a cucuzza before preparation.

==========================================================
Ingredients:

Cucuzza (peeled and sliced or diced)
Tomatoes (diced vine ripened or Roma / or canned stewed)
Yellow Onion - 1 per squash (thickly sliced or diced)
Garlic 4-6 cloves (minced)
Olive Oil 1 TB
Sweet Basil 10 leaves fresh, or 2 TB dried
Red Chili (optional)
Fava Beans 1/2 cup shelled and blanched (optional - can also use soybeans)
Sugar 1/8 cup per squash
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Water enough to fill pot to 1/2 of the contents
Cheese graded (Parmigiano-Reggiano preferred)
Pasta (optional - Capelli D'Angelo preferred)

Preparation:

Select a pot large enough to contain the entire contents of the recipe.

Peel cucuzza removing the greenish outer skin. Peeling and slice/dicing may be done in sections depending upon the size of the squash.

Add olive to the cooking pot and lightly sauté onion and garlic.

Slice peeled squash in 1/4 - 1/2" slices. Depending upon the size of the piece, it may need to be halved and/or quartered.

Add cucuzza to sautéd onions and garlic.

Add tomatoes, sugar a portion of the basil, chili-pepper (optional), fava beans (optional), and water (enough to cover 1/2 of the ingredients.

Bring water for pasta to a boil, and bring pot with cucuzza to a low boil then set to low. Cook pasta until ready and simmer cucuzza until tender.

Serve over pasta, add cheese and garnish with sweet basil.