Yellow Squash Recipe / My Grandma's 5-Ingredient Lebanese Dinner
This yellow squash and tomato recipe is a fresh, vibrant Lebanese recipe passed down from my grandmother. She made it all summer long using yellow squash and ripe tomatoes from her backyard garden, and it remains one of my favorite easy summer recipes to this day. It's naturally vegan and light enough for warm evenings, yet satisfying enough to enjoy as a simple dinner over rice with warm pita. In my grandma’s kitchen I learned that you don’t need anything fancy to make an incredibly flavorful, healthy meal. With just five simple ingredients, this recipe is proof that some of the best meals are also the simplest. Every time I make it I'm reminded that the best recipes are often not only simple, but they are also the ones shared around the family table.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
With only five simple ingredients, this recipe proves that healthy food doesn't have to be complicated. The ingredients are few and fresh: olive oil, onions, diced tomatoes, and simple spices like salt and a touch of allspice for that distinctive Middle Eastern flavor. Served over rice, this dish is filling but not too heavy. I can make this recipe in about 20 minutes and sometimes serve it as a side dish, but I most often eat it as a simple, easy main dish. You can easily boost protein by adding a can of garbanzo beans, which ups the nutritional value but not the cooking time. This is a fantastic easy vegan recipe for beginners and will help you see that cooking great food does not have to be difficult or complicated.
Tips to Make it Just Like Grandma’s
My grandmother, like many grandmothers, never wrote anything down, so learning to cook from her involved watching, taking notes, and lots of trial and error. In many Lebanese recipes I will saute the onions until they are browned, but in this recipe I add the squash in as soon as I cut it up after the onions have been sauteing for only a few minutes. The onions and squash cooking together make the flavor much richer.
I don’t always use fresh tomatoes in this dish! If it isn’t summer when I have access to the freshest and tastiest tomatoes I will simply use tomato paste. This will make the ending recipe have more sauce, which makes it slightly different, but just as tasty. Grandma always served this over Ben's Original Rice with a little butter and salt. I still do this sometimes because that's exactly how I remember eating it and the saucier version is especially delicious over rice.
Finally, allspice can be overpowering so start with a very small amount, just a pinch - you can always add more if you need it. I hope this recipe brings a little piece of my grandmother's kitchen into yours. If you make it, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments. And if you enjoy simple Lebanese cooking, be sure to check out my other family recipes.
Lebanese Yellow Squash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 yellow crookneck squash/summer squash
- 1/2 - 1 yellow onion (one small or 1/2 medium) diced
- 2-3 medium tomatoes diced (the fresher the better, Roma work well in this recipe)
- 1 tablespoon of plant based butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt to taste
- Lebanese allspice to taste
Instructions
- Dice the onion and add to a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of plant based butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. If you want to make this oil free you can use 1/2 cup of vegetable broth instead
- Saute the onion over medium low heat while you cut up the squash.
- Cut the squash into uniform pieces about 1 inch in size and add to the onion. Stir the onion and squash to coat with the oil/butter and saute over medium low heat for about 7 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the squash is bright yellow.
- Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and dice into small 1/2 inch pieces. *This step is optional–see notes below.
- Add the tomatoes to the squash/onion mixture and stir to combine.
- Dissolve 1 tablespoon of tomato paste in 1 cup of hot water, then add to the squash/onion/tomato mixture and bring to a simmer.
- Add in a dash of Lebanese allspice and about 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of salt.
- Simmer for about 5 more minutes until the tomatoes are tender.
- Serve over rice- Grandma always used Ben's Original rice and so do I!
- In Lebanese families we eat this with pita bread, by scooping it up with our hands. I hope you enjoy!
Notes
You can omit the fresh tomatoes in this recipe and I often do if it is winter and I can not get fresh tomatoes. In that case I would use 2 tablespoons of tomato paste instead. This will be a bit soupier but goes great over rice.
If you want to add bulk or protein to this recipe you can add a can of garbanzo beans or lima beans. Add them at the same time you add the fresh tomatoes and let simmer. You may want to increase the liquid a bit if you opt to do this.
