My pattypans went crazy a couple weeks ago and I decided to try dehydrating them. I'd read that it could be done, so I dove in without reading any further.
Same dehydrating process as with most things:
I used a mandoline slicer to make my life simpler. After slicing up a couple baskets of pattypans, crooknecks and Italian zucchinis, I spread the slices out on the dehydrating trays.
Once they were done, I tossed them into jars and looked around for an easy way to use them. I didn't want to go crazy dehydrating a million squash before making sure they would be edible once I re-hydrated them.
I decided to make a simple pasta dish with them. So, I poured them into the bottom of a pyrex dish.
Poured hot marinara sauce over them, cooked some noodles (letting the squash soak in the marinara sauce during that time) and then layered the penne over the squash and marinara and then added more marinara and some Monterey Jack cheese. Baked that at 350 until it was warm and bubbling.
The above picture is there to illustrate that not all food photos taste the way they appear. I was excited to try my first re-hydrated food creation. I took a big bite and it tasted bizarre. The squash was way too chewy and it didn't taste fully cooked. I was so disappointed.
After I did a little research (by way of my friend Google and a phone call with my awesome brother), I found out that foods really need to be re-hydrated in water. It basically replaces what was removed from them in the dehydrating process. By just placing the dry squash in the marinara sauce, it wasn't able to absorb enough moisture to fully rehydrate.
Oh well, I said I'd share what I discovered along the way, so I'm calling this "take one" of squash. Because I will definitely be trying this again, with properly re-hydrated squash!
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