I leave them whole (you eat the entire thing), (if some are large and some small, I'll cut the larger ones in 1/2) put into roasting pan and drizzle olive oil over. Add salt & pepper if you want - I don't use salt. You can toss in some peeled garlic cloves if you want and/or sprinkle some oregano on top. Mix all up and put into 400 deg. oven till done the way you like them. We like them a little crunchy, but some prefer them tender. You can do the same thing with zucchini and yellow squash. You can make a mix of them. For a different take, you can throw some tomatoes in also - either fresh peeled or canned, chopped and some basil. If you do that and you want, you can add mushrooms, cubed eggplant, onions, garlic and red and/or green peppers. I first par-boil the eggplant and mushrooms and drain well since they have a lot of water in them. When I do it like this, I sometimes serve over polenta and that's our meal. Didn't mean to make this so long, or did I mean to sound like a"cookbook"! Let me know if you try this out. Enjoy!

What are pattypans?

They're a member of the squash family. They're small, kind of shaped like an acorn with fluted tops. I don't know if that's a very good description or not. They're mild tasting and not very common in most supermarkets. Farmers markets often have them.

Lisanne - I forgot to mention in the above "recipe" that I sometimes drain and rinse a can of white beans and throw that in at the end, just enough to heat them up. That also makes a good meal.

Minda, this is what they look like: http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ypan+&aqi=g-s1

Redquilter, thanks for the additional details. The white beans sounds like the perfect addition!

Thanks, Redquilter and Lisanne. I think I'll try them roasting them.