Creamy Spaghetti Squash

It's so good you'll forget it's squash.


Spaghetti squash is one of those veggies that we all got familiar with back in the days of no-carb-dom.  What's that?  You never fell for that silliness?  Well, my parents got into it when I was in high school, and it just kinda seeped into my consciousness.  It's squash that cooks up a lot like spaghetti.  I know!  It's crazy!  And healthy.  And good. 

That, obviously is what I care most about these days.

This recipe is from The Kitchn via Serious Eats.  Obviously I'm really into cooking the blogs this week.  It can be great inspiration sometimes.

Here's my squash.  Looking at it you'd never think there was spaghetti inside.

Preheat your oven to 375˚.

Give your squash some good pokes with a fork.  I put my squash on some foil on a baking dish for easy cleanup.

Bake it until tender- about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes, until it can be easily pierced with a pairing knife.  Let it cool a bit while you get the sauce going.

Take six sage leaves.

Fry them up in a few tablespoons of olive oil until they're crisp.

Trust me, even though they're blurry, they are crisp.

Now measure 3/4 cup part skim ricotta into a large bowl.

Smash a clove of garlic.  The instruction wasn't that clear, but this is my interpretation.  I crushed a clove of garlic and peeled it.  Then I sprinkled it with a little salt.

I gave that a chop chop.

Then I used the knife to smash the garlic into pulp.  The salt works as an abrasive to help the process along.

I was left with a garlic paste that will incorporate easily into the cheese.  This is a great technique when you aren't going to be cooking the garlic.

Mix the garlic, ricotta and crumbled sage leaves.

Now slice open your squash.

Remove the seeds and pulp:

Now use a fork to seperate the strands of squash.

Add those to the ricotta and mix.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now toast some walnuts.  The recipe actually calls for pine nuts, but those things are really bad for you.  At least walnuts have heart healthy oils and such.  They have a nice mild flavor that's a good substitute.

Serve the squash sprinkled with the chopped walnuts.

This was a great light lunch, and would make a great side to any simply grilled protein. 

Spaghetti Squash With Ricotta, Sage, and Pine Nuts (or Walnuts)

- serves 4 -
From Serious Eats

Adapted from The Kitchn.

Ingredients

1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup part skim ricotta
1 clove garlic, mashed
Olive oil (about 1/2 to 1 full tablespoon)
6 to 8 fresh sage leaves
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Pierce the whole squash in several places with a knife or fork, place it in a baking dish, and bake until flesh is tender (easily pierced with a fork), about 60 to 75 minutes.
3. Remove squash from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a little bit of oil in a small pan. Quickly fry sage leaves until crispy but not burnt. Crumble sage leaves into a large bowl and combine with ricotta and garlic. Set aside.
4. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Pull a fork through the flesh to separate and remove the strands from the shell. Add to bowl with ricotta mixture.
5. Combine squash and ricotta mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Sprinkle with nuts before serving.


Mmm.  Creamy and healthy!  I love food.

Playing,
Meredith