I happen to have a jar of neonata. It’s a Calabrian Hot Fish condiment that often is just used on pasta. My jar was expiring so I looked up recipes on the web for neonata and Chef Matthew Taylor’s Recipe for summer squash with neonata (spelled incorrectly “neoata”), smoked yogurt and peppered feta came up so I thought I’d give it a try. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I thought of olive oil smoked paprika potatoes instead of smoked yogurt. I didn’t roast baby squash so I broiled regular squash instead. The last change was that I didn’t use Fresno peppers. I used baby bell peppers because I had baby bell peppers at home. I do note that you need to pickle the peppers the day before so they have a chance to pickle. A special THANKS to Chef Matt Taylor from Mora Italian Restaurant. This recipe is FORKING AWESOME! My idea of a serving size might differ from yours…..This makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

8 baby bell peppers sliced in thin rings (original recipe calls for 6 Fresno peppers)

1 cup champagne vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 lb potatoes – peel – cut in half

1 Tablespoon sea salt (to season the potatoes boiling)

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (maybe up to 2 Tablespoons more or add a little water till potatoes are the right consistency) ((I used 2 Tablespoons water because the neonata has a lot of oil in it and I wanted to keep the potatoes free of dairy)

1 Tablespoon pepper brine from peppers you pickled

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

crushed sea salt to taste

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

2 lbs squash (original recipe calls to roast baby squash in a 400 F degree oven for 5 minutes) ((I used Mexican squash and cut the squash in planks and broiled with olive oil.

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – that got sprayed lightly on both sides of squash

3 Tablespoons neonata

4 Tablespoons peppered feta cheese

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Directions

Make the pickled peppers. Bring the vinegar, sugar and water to a boil. Pour over pepper rings. Let cool on the counter to room temperature and then refrigerate.

The next day you can do the rest.

If you are broiling turn your oven on to broil.

You can either roast, grill or broil (if you cut into planks) the squash. I used Mexican green squash that were smaller in size in trimmed ends and cut into thirds longways and then half so the planks weren’t too long.

Put the potatoes and one Tablespoon sea salt in a pot. Cover the potatoes well with water. Bring to a medium boil and cook till fork tender. (around 15-20 minutes). Mash the potatoes by hand with a masher. Add the olive oil, pepper brine, smoked paprika, salt and either add more olive oil or just water till the potatoes are the correct consistency. Add sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Place squash on baking sheet. Lightly spray top of squash with olive oil. Place under broiler till browned. Turn squash over and brown other side. Apply salt, pepper, fresh thyme to taste.

SERVE IMMEDIATELEY!

Spread out the potatoes on plate.

Toss the squash with neonata and place over potatoes.

Top squash with peppered feta and pickled peppers.

ENJOY

A Special THANKS to Chef Matthew Taylor and Mora Italian Restaurant for sharing his Forking Awesome recipe Summer Squash with Neonata, Smoked Yogurt and Peppered Feta with us so we all can enjoy!