Winning at Healthy Eating-Spaghetti Squash

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This post was written by: Pat Kennelly

Although I love the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables, autumn has always been my favorite season . My introduction to seasonal cooking was when I first read Perla Meyers The Seasonal Kitchen: A Return to Fresh Foods. I was just starting as a chef in a small cafe in Connecticut and I wanted to learn everything I could about cooking with the seasons. The cafe had a blackboard menu and I was responsible to come up with more than twenty specials a day. Being creative was a big part of the job. That first fall I experimented with squashes, pumpkins, wild mushrooms, fresh figs, stews, braises and warming comfort foods. My customers favorite desserts were simple ones; stuffed baked apples with walnuts, honey and dried cranberries and poached pears in port with a vanilla custard sauce. Acorn squash risotto and sweet potato gnocchi would sell out before the 7:00 p.m. dinner rush. And although I occasionally still cook that way I often look for lighter versions When I picked up a spaghetti squash at the market yesterday the cashier remarked that she didn’t know how to cook any of those squashes (referring to the pile near the front entrance). I saw the squash and immediately thought of making a fresh tomato sauce with the last of the garden tomatoes, cipollini onions, garlic and fresh herbs.

Spaghetti Squash with Quick Tomato Sauce

1 spaghetti squash cut in half and placed on a baking sheet rind side up.

Although you can microwave most squashes my favorite way is to bake squash at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes.

Quick Tomato Sauce

• 8 very ripe fresh tomatoes diced
• 3-4 cipollini onions sliced thin (1 medium sized regular onion diced can be substituted)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of Chianti or your favorite red wine
• Fresh herbs, basil, rosemary, oregano to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

While squash is baking heat olive oil, add onion and saute until clear. Add garlic cook for an additional three minutes. Add fresh tomatoes and wine bring to a boil and then turn down heat and simmer for twenty minutes. Add herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Puree for a smoother texture.

When squash is tender remove seeds from squash and run a fork lengthwise through the squash to get strands. Serve sauce over spaghetti squash strands.Top with a sprinkling of Parmigiana cheese.