Calabacita over Croutons

A little butter and garlic has the power to transform the most humble of foods, like potatoes, into something luxurious. The starring vegetable here is something I never saw back home but my Mexican friends call it calabacita - summer squash that look like ball-shaped zucchini and are similar in texture but have a yellowish flesh. This is something that you can make in a few minutes for one or two people. Since the garlic cooks with both the croutons and the squash you have to take a bit of care not to burn it, but that is the only tricky part.

You need to crush two cloves of garlic and thinly slice half a pound of calabacita, or zucchini, for one person. Melt one and a half tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a wide heavy bottomed frying pan and stir in garlic; heat gently til garlic has lost its sharp taste and has flavoured the butter. Push bits of garlic to sides of the pan and throw in a couple of handfuls cubed bread. (I used dried but you can use fresh. It just takes a bit longer.) Let bread cubes brown and soak up some of the butter. Remove to a bowl when toasty. Add the sliced squash to the pan with a half teaspoon or so of salt and cook just til soft before spooning on top of the croutons.