As I mentioned in my last post, squash has always been a fall favorite in my family. Various types of squash were prepared in chunks, brushed with olive oil, and topped with fall spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, which would roast in the oven until tender. I still enjoy eating squash this way, but recently I’ve been addicted to a fantastic, mouth watering spaghetti squash recipe my boyfriend and I came up with, while deciding what veg to buy at the farmers market one weekend.
When cooked spaghetti squash is shredded with a fork, the strings of squash that are created resemble spaghetti, just as it’s name suggests. Taking a pile of shredded squash, placing it in a bowl, and topping it with homemade tomato sauce makes for a delicious and healthy alternative to pasta. Unlike traditional flour pasta, this is such a nice, light meal, filling you up just right. Once you make this once, it will be your new fall go to recipe!
And remember, all these ingredients can be found at your local farmers market.
Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Tomato Sauce (serves 2)
The sauce:
1 medium cippolini onion (cippolini is a sweet, Italian onion variety which adds a bit of necessary sweetness to the sauce)
1 medium shallot
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds San Marzano tomatoes (or another variety if these are not at your farmers market. I actually used Early Girl tomatoes the last time I made this and they worked very well too)
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp raw sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup water
The squash:
1 medium spaghetti squash
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg
3-5 strands of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
Ready to cook! The sauce takes 1.5 – 2 hours to cook, so plan accordingly and give yourself plenty of time. Cooking homemade tomato sauce in a short period of time doesn’t allow for the tomatoes and acidity to break down or the flavors to blend.
1. Chop the cippolini, shallot, and garlic. Chop the tomatoes into medium pieces. Drizzle the bottom of a pot with olive oil, and heat over medium low.
2. Add the cippolini, shallot, and garlic to the pot and sautee for 6-8 minutes until tender.
3. Add the tomatoes, red wine, balsamic vinegar, all the spices, sugar, tomato paste, and water. Give a stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer (medium low), and cover. For the next 1 1/2 – 2 hours, give a quick stir every 10-15 minutes.
4. Prep the squash. Cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise. Place both halves on a baking sheet with the inside of the squash face up.
5. Drizzle each squash half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to your liking.
6. Heat the oven to 350°. The squash takes 45-55 minutes to cook, so place the squash in the oven 45 minutes before the sauce is done. This way the sauce and squash can be done approximately at the same time.
7. Remove the squash from the oven. Poke with a fork; the fork should easily enter the squash which is a sign the squash is finished and tender enough. Let cool for a few minutes.
8. Take a fork, turn upside down, and with some pressure pull the prongs along the inside of one of the halves. Repeat this “shredding” motion until all the inside of the squash is removed from the skin and has created a pile of strings of squash, resembling spaghetti. Repeat this step for the second half of the squash.
9. Place a pile of squash into the bottom of two bowls. Top each pile of squash with a couple spoonfuls (ladle size) of the sauce.
10. Roughly chop the 3-5 strands of fresh parsley and top each dish with it.
Serve and mangia! Don’t forget to pair it with a glass of red wine- a good red goes perfectly with the tomato sauce full of dried herbs.
Italian word of the day:
Pomodoro (n) = tomato (or pomodori = tomatoes)
*(pronunciation: poh-moh-door-oh)
