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I have made spaghetti squash many times in the past. It’s not only super cheap, but you’d be shocked by how many meals you can get out of just one! Half of just one was more than enough to feed myself and my boyfriend a solid meal - and the other half was portioned out for more than a weeks worth of food for both of us to take to lunch.
I’ve made spaghetti squash numerous times - and have come to the decision that probably the best spices to toss your squash in is garam masala. It’s an Indian spice mix consisting of a generous combinations of cumin, caradamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and black pepper, all ground together into a deliciously aromatic spice blend. It balances out that overtly ‘squashy’ taste that can come with squash, and with the spinach ‘pasta sauce’ this simple dish is certainly something to rave about (and impress all of your friends with).
This week I found an entire vine of (almost) perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes, and a large orange pepper that had been hiding from view. I decided I had to utilize both in this extra garden-y meal.
There's a simple feeling of pride when you are able to harvest your own vegetables and make them into something delicious. I can't wait until I can have a huge garden instead of some hanging planters on a balcony.
I de-stemmed the cherry tomatoes and roughly chopped half of the bell pepper before placing them into a cup to await blending. There's also a little feeling of hurt when you have to chop up vegetables you grew from a seed.
Poke some holes into the squash with a sharp knife. Some recipes say to cut the squash in half before roasting it, but I think that doesn't do the squash the justice it deserves by it steaming within itself. Bake the squash at 400°F for about 40 minutes to an hour, or until the squash can be easily cut in half with a knife. The knife will literally slide right through when it’s ready!
Then take a large spoon or tongs and remove all of the seeds and stringy bits from the center of the squash. Take a fork, and using a hot pad to hold the squash carefully in one hand, use the fork to scrape the inside of the squash into strings! The squash is already naturally stringy and it should be super, super easy to get the strings to come out.
Half of a squash filled up my entire serving tray, so I opted to serve half of it that night with the pasta sauce, and reserved half for snacks and lunches throughout the week.
As the squash cools, begin sautéing the spinach in a few tablespoons of butter.
Add a tablespoon or two of garlic to the wilted spinach, and sauté until the moisture from the butter has mostly evaporated. Then just add to the blender cup with the orange pepper and cherry tomatoes.
Blend the sauce until smooth, but leave it a little chunky to get some nice coloration from the pepper and tomatoes throughout. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, too, then stir.
Heat another tablespoon of butter or oil in a skillet, and add the spinach sauce to heat through.
This sauce made the entire house smell incredible.
Then just pour the sauce over the spaghetti squash and sprinkle with a pinch of Parmesan cheese.
This is definitely the best spaghetti squash I've ever had, I remember my mom making spaghetti squash when I was still in high school - and I remember thinking it was the grossest thing ever. I’m not a huge fan of squash in general, or so I thought (turns out my mom is just not a very good cook - sorry mom!) When I attempted to make spaghetti squash on my own for the first time, I was decently surprised at how easy it was. And since I was actually able to chose (and grow) the other ingredients, it wasn’t bad at all.
