Okay, I finally get it.Each time I cook spaghetti squash, no matter how, I'm unimpressed by the taste. Sure, it is easy to cook. Sure, it has virtually no calories. But why waste one's energy on food with no taste?
My sister likes spaghetti squash, however, so she's always puzzled by my reaction. Three times now, she's repeated, "I just cook it for the noodles."
Oh, right! Here's the deal: cook spaghetti squash and then put it under something, just like we would noodles or rice or potatoes. That makes it a virtually calorie-free, carb-free starch. Get flavor from what's on top, not the spaghetti squash itself.
Sisters are smart!
When Adanna mentioned she'd cooked a whole spaghetti squash with great success, this I heard her the first time! I cooked one whole today for lunch, leaving the washed unpricked spaghetti squash in the oven at 350F for an hour. And then I put some peppery-hot lentil soup over top. Perfect.
NEXT TIME How long to cook spaghetti squash? The strands were cooked after an hour but next time I'll leave the squash in longer, say 90 minutes, to see if the strands become more noodle-y with more time in the oven.
MAKE IT A MEAL That's Oven-Cooked Lentil Soup there on top. Yum!
VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ how to roast a whole butternut squash ~
~ how to roast a whole pumpkin ~
~ more winter squash recipes ~
~ more quick vegetable recipes ~
~ Zucchini Ribbons, another 'vegetable noodle' ~
~ one year ago this week Harvard Beets ~
~ two years ago today Pumpkin Corn Bread ~
~ how to roast a whole butternut squash ~
~ how to roast a whole pumpkin ~
~ more winter squash recipes ~
~ more quick vegetable recipes ~
~ Zucchini Ribbons, another 'vegetable noodle' ~
~ one year ago this week Harvard Beets ~
~ two years ago today Pumpkin Corn Bread ~
SPAGHETTI SQUASH COOKED WHOLE
Hands-on time: 1 minute to start, 5 minutes to finish
Time to table: 70 - 90 minutes
About 3 cups of 'noodles' from a 2 3/4 pound spaghetti squash
Time to table: 70 - 90 minutes
About 3 cups of 'noodles' from a 2 3/4 pound spaghetti squash
1 spaghetti squash
Set oven to 350F. Wash the squash, especially around the stem and blossom ends where bacteria can collect. Place directly on a rack in the center of the oven, setting the timer for 60 or 90 minutes plus whatever time is left to preheat.
When the squash is done, remove from the oven. Holding the squash with potholders, slice it pole to pole. Scoop out the seeds and discard. With the tines of a fork, scrape the flesh to separate the strands into noodles.
Top with something delicious!
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Your Comments:
Let's ask my sister, she's the smart one with spaghetti squash! :-)
Also -- I got WAY more than 3 cups of squash out of mine (mine more than filled a 2-1/2-quart casserole), although I don't know how much it weighed to begin with. It was long enough, though to fit comfortably in a jelly roll pan in the oven.
PLUS: The 10-15 minutes it took to clean the seeds out of the scooped out messy part was very well worth it.
I rinsed them, dried them on a kitchen towel, tossed them with a little olive oil, sprinkled them with a little salt, and roasted them in a 250-degree oven for about 50 minutes. Snacked on them for days!
Preheat oven to 350. Cut the spaghetti squash in half longways. Remove seeds and fill cavity with other ingedients. Dabble some along the edge. Bake 1 hr. My mom is so crazy about this that she buys blue cheese in the 1.5 pound container from Costco's. Tonight I added basalmic vinegar to the mixture, and I really liked it. It was tangier and less rich. I've tried this with parmesan (the Kraft in the jar), and I didn't like it nearly as well. Feta was better than parmesan, but still not as good as blue cheese.
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