Missy from the USA is a family keeper of her Slovak grandma’s recipes. Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to put down on paper a recipe for ‘kipperskraut’ her grandma used to make before she passed away a few years ago.

Missy wrote in to ask about the recipe with a short description of the dish which sounded similar to our tekvicový prívarok. Unlike her grandma, we don’t normally use zucchini in tekvicový prívarok, but a type of pumpkin we call tekvica in Slovak.

Tekvica would most likely classify as yellow squash or summer squash in the USA. Many Slovaks grow it in their gardens. Tekvicový prívarok is a creamy sauce made from tekvica, and its thickness will depend on how much flour you use in the roux.

To make it more nutritious, meat or fried eggs are often added to the sauce. In the recipe below I used traditional pork sausages.

Roast Sausages in Yellow Squash Sauce

Serves 4

• 1 small yellow squash (about 800 g)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 bay leaves
• 200 g sour cream (about 10 tablespoons)
• 5 heaped tablespoons fine flour
• water as needed
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar (optional)
• 4 sausages

Method:

1. Put the sausages in a roasting tin and pierce them in several places with a fork.
2. Sprinkle with a little water and place in the oven preheated to 180°C. Cook for 15 minutes. When the sausages have released fat and juices, turn them over and cook for another 15 minutes. Spoon in some more water, if necessary, to keep them moist. Turn off the heat but leave the sausages in the oven until you have cooked the sauce. 
3. Cut off both ends of the yellow squash and quarter it lengthways. Peel the quarters and scoop out the seeds with a tablespoon.
   

   

   Grate each quarter into a casserole.

4. Fill it with just enough water to cover the squash, then add the salt, bay leaves, black pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring now and then.
5. In a small bowl, mix the flour with a cup of tepid water until smooth. Stir into the simmering squash to thicken it, then slowly add the sour cream. Let come to the boil and put aside. Season with the vinegar or leftover pickle liquid. 
6. Divide the sauce into soup bowls, put a few slices of the roast sausage in the middle of each helping, and trickle the roasting juices over. Serve with rye bread.