Summer Squash + Sweet Corn Hash with Maple Chili Syrup

Sometimes well laid plans fail and you have to improvise. Yes, I’m talking about recipes at the market that do not work and you as a chef have to transform the recipe on the fly. That is exactly what happened when I planned a squash and corn fritter but technical difficulties turned them into a yummy caramelized hash!!

The corn and summer squash color palette appeals to the photographer in me, and their flavours are a match made in recipe heaven; sweet, crunchy, fresh, and tender ~ again needing very little doctoring like this hash. I paired it with a simple maple chili syrup which took it up another notch.

Serve with breakfast eggs, stuff into a pepper or roll up into a wrap sandwich; this is a really versatile recipe. And if you really want to make squash pancakes here’s a recipe from the archives.

Serves 4-6

For the Hash

2 ears of corn
1 summer squash
1 small onion
1 tsp. fresh herbs
2 cloves of garlic
½ cup of water
½ cup chickpea flour
¼ cup pearl millet flour
salt and pepper to taste

For the Syrup

1/3 cup of maple syrup
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. red chili powder (or to taste)
pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1. Clean the corn and scrape off the kernels into a bowl ~ approx. 3-4 cups
2. Clean and grate the summer squash into the bowl ~ approx. 2 cups
3. Grate the small onion into the bowl ~ approx. ¼ cup
4. Mince the herbs and garlic and add to the bowl ~ I used fresh thyme at the market
5. Mix the dry ingredients in a large measuring up and add to the bowl
6. Pour in the water, a little at a time and mix, add more water as needed to get the consistency of a cake batter, add a dusting of chickpea flour if batter too thin ~ start with a little less water since the squash will release some too
7. Heat a non-stick pan with 2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil and let the pan heat on high; when hot, pour in the hash mix, pat it down and spread it out into the pan, turn the heat to medium-high, cover and let it cook for about 20 minutes before checking in
8. Start scraping the hash and see if you’re successful to flip it over; if you’re like me, break up the pieces and flip them to brown the other side; the chickpea flour will start to give out a nutty aroma
9. When the hash pulls together after another 10 minutes; turn off the heat and mix, serve warm
10. Measure and whisk the syrup ingredients in a glass bowl or a small bottle, drizzle over the hash and enjoy; store the remaining in the fridge for future use on chicken and waffles maybe?