Squash Fritters! Rich and Tasty

Squash Fritter, Rice, Miso-White Beans and Kale/Arame Salad

There are two women, one from Argentina and one from Brazil who are now selling home cooked foods at Bangor’s European Market. Mike, after purchasing several empanadas and some pastry stuffed with spicy chicken, pointed out that they were selling fritters made from butternut squash. Mike thought I might be inspired by their recipe and could make a tasty bread-crumb-free version at home. So last night I did just that.

I steamed some cubed buttercup squash, sautéed a little bit of onion, garlic and hot pepper, then mashed everything up in a bowl with some chopped fresh parsley. I shaped the mixture into patties and coated with a mixture of chopped sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. I use a cast iron pan and pan-fried the fritters in about an eighth of an inch of sesame oil. There is nothing in this world like a cast iron frying pan.

We also had a garlicky arame and kale salad. Arame is a sea vegetable that needs to be soaked for a little while then can be cooked either by boiling or stir frying. I cooked up a little garlic, in the same pan that I had cooked the fritters, then added the arame. At the last minute I tossed in the kale and covered until wilted. The dressing was a rice syrup/rice vinegar/toasted sesame oil mixture. If you’re not used to sea vegetables, arame can be a bit overpowering. It tastes a little like you went swimming in the ocean and swallowed. I, however, find it mighty satisfying.


I cooked some small white beans with both Wakame and Kombu sea vegetables and added some miso once I removed the beans from the heat. I blended about 1/3 of the beans to give them a creamy consistency.

We served everything with a mixture of brown and mahogany rice.

I would also like to point out that in the center of my plate is a generous serving of sauerkraut. This was a heavy meal! Fried squash, thick beans and hearty rice are all quite rich and dense. The sauerkraut helped to lighten things up a little. So did a little vodka with olives!