Spaghetti squash is a pretty unique vegetable. Once it is cooked it comes apart into long strands that look like regular spaghetti noodles. Beyond the cool factor, this squash is rich in potassium and vitamins A and C. It has a fraction of the calories and carbohydrates (not that those should be avoided) of regular white flour pasta but more fiber, which helps it to be just as filling, minus the resulting sluggishness and food coma that processed flours can bring. Because the squash is so light, I like to pair it with a chunky, rich sauce. This version has bacon, sun dried tomatoes and red wine to give it some smokiness and depth but you can use anything that you normally like to pair with spaghetti.
Spaghetti Squash with Meaty Tomato Sauce
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 small spaghetti squash (around 12" diameter and 6" long)
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 2 slices bacon, chopped finely
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced thickly
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup red wine
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped finely
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 carrot, chopped finely
- 1 celery stalk, chopped finely
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large saucepan over the stove on high heat, it must have high sides because this sauce is quite thick and will bubble and splatter a bit. Sautée the beef, bacon, onion, garlic, carrot and celery for around 10 minutes. There should be no pink left on the beef and the vegetables should be softened and fragrant. Drain any excess oil and discard. Add in the mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, water, wine, sundried tomatoes, oregano and basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to let the flavors deepen, stirring every 5-10 minutes so the bottom doesn't burn. Now for the spaghetti squash- cut each one in half, remove the seeds (I like to scrape them out with a serrated grapefruit spoon), place face down on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and use oven mitts to flip them over, beware of escaping steam. Check for doneness by making sure a fork can easily pierce through to the skin in a few spots. Let them cool for a couple minutes then use a fork to scrape along from one end to the other, breaking apart the strands. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the honey and salt and pepper, the honey may seem a little bit odd but tomato sauce needs a bit of sweetness to be balanced out. You can serve the sauce over the squash, using the outer skin as a bowl or put it all on a plate.
