There is always a feeling of excitement when a foodie discovers a new ingredient. I experience this a lot, though not as often as I’d want to. My latest discovery was spaghetti squash. I had seen them before in markets and food blogs, but I had never prepared one. I bought one that sat on my kitchen for a couple of weeks. Every time I walked in there it seemed to beg me ot eat it. I finally did last week when I baked it for lunch.
This was a new experience because, even though I have roasted squash and pumpkin before, spaghetti squash is different. To start with, the instructions say to baked it whole and then cut it and scoop out the seeds. So I poked it (so it didn’t explode in my oven) and baked it for an hour at 350°F. Afterwards I cut it with a serrated knife and scooped out the seeds. Finally I shredded the pulp of the squash into strands that look like spaghetti (hence the name) with a fork.
But it wasn’t ready to be eaten just yet. I read that the strands were kinda bland so I decided to give them some flavor. I minced 5 garlic cloves and sauteed them in 2 TBSP of butter. When the garlic started to turn brown I added half of the spaghetti squash, added salt and pepper and mixed it all very well. I served this with some vodka sauce I bought at the store (I know I cheated, but sometimes one has to cut corners, hehe) and some Parmesan cheese.
I really liked it. Jon’s verdict was that it was garlicky enough, not overpowering. My only complain is that it’s not very filling. A couple of hours later we were hungry again. This is the perfect ingredient to cut back on carbs, but probably not my first option in the winter when carbs is what I crave the most. Have you prepared spaghetti squash before? How did you prepare it?
¡Buen provecho!
This post is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging #213. This week’s hostess is Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.
16 Replies
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dan Campos and Ben, Rick Mitchell. Rick Mitchell said: RT @BenTheCook: New post on What's cooking? Spaghetti squash for lunch. http://foodurl.info/5999 Buen provecho! [...]
Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Believe or not my mom introduced me to spaghetti squash years ago..it had been my favourite. I have one sitting on my counter…and do I have plans….
Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Mmm this looks great! Like a good alternative to pasta… But I would probably end up putting it OVER pasta!
Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I've seen this many times but never attempted it myself either…maybe I just love real spaghetti too much!!!…LOL…Just kidding…loks great…
Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Ben, that is such an attractive plate.
Posted on December 7th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Never really tried spaghetti squash. It's looks yummy!
Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 4:10 am
I keep seeing posts with spaghetti squash but I have never tried it. It does look very interesting so maybe I should give it a go. Although I haven't even ever had a squash at all so maybe I should start there..
Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 8:12 am
I typically make it like you did or just with some butter as a side. Foodycat made it into a carbonara in her post today & I think that sounds good.
Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Oh, drat. Now I feel really guilty for letting that locally grown spaghetti squash (2 big 'uns, even) go to waste.
Just a couple months too late!
Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
My Mom served us spaghetti squash in the 70's we actually grew it. She thought it was another sneaky way to get us to eat veggies. Little did she know we would all turn out to be foodies lol! Anyway outside of garlic oil and parmesan cheese, I have had it sauted with other roasted veggies in a ragout form, and I have also had it sauted in a skillet with some poached eggs on the side (think alternative to hash browns) I just love finding new foods to try! Your pictures really invite viewers to want to go out and try it.
Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Nice! Huge fan of squashes but never really played around with spaghetti. Bad memories of growing up and mom just serving it plain but thankfully gave us a ton of butter to make it edible.
Posted on December 9th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
this looks amazing, love the colours. Now I have to look out for this squash!
Posted on December 9th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
I like to bake my (already cooked) spaghetti squash with ricotta and parm. Tastes a bit like a lasagna, and keeps you full much longer too.
Posted on December 13th, 2009 at 3:14 am
All that butter and garlic sounds just perfect! I know what you mean about it not being that filling though. It leaves room for dessert!
Posted on December 13th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I've been growing this in my garden for a long time, and I love to pick the homegrown ones when they're very small (still green) and eat it like a summer squash (skin, seeds, and all.) But the idea doesn't seem to have caught on, because I never see them sold like that.
You're right that the mature squash can be rather bland, but it sounds like yours would be delicious with the garlic and tomato sauce!
Posted on December 16th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I've seen spaghetti squash but never tried cooking with it before.
Posted on December 17th, 2009 at 6:54 am
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