Eat In. Zapallo casserole.

In Mexican and Central American Spanish the word for squash is calabaza, pero in Chile the word is zapallo.

Squash appears a lot in Chilean cuisine. There's zapallo-based breads, it's appears in stews and soups, and can be bought by the chunk at any farmer's market. Coming from Midwestern roots, I naturally tried to adapt this into a casserole, and what ensued was complete amazing deliciousness.

What you'll need:

3-4 chunks of squash, about as big as the palm of your hand, maybe a bit smaller

4 large cloves of garlic

1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped

1 green onion stalk, chopped into rings

1/2 cup water

salt and white pepper (a-mazing) to taste

What to do:

1. Saute the white onion and halved cloves of garlic in a pan.

2. Add green onion.

3. When the green onion has wilted a bit, add in the cubed squash.

4. Saute this for just a second, then add the water.

5. Cover with the lid of a pan to steam the squash. This will take a minute because squash is so tough. Periodically turn the liquid-y mix around, but don't lift the lid too much or the steam will escape.

6. When the squash is tender enough to pierce with a fork, squish it so that it has a mushy consistency. Mix well with the other ingredients.

I like to serve this over a bed of white rice. This is a really healthy, tasty, fast lunch or dinner. Totally cooking time is about 15 minutes (not including clean up).

-- Lauren Williams