A huge bowl of warm pasta is one of the ultimate comfort foods, especially on a chilly, hectic day.
Should I be eating so many carbs? Definitely not.
Enter Spaghetti Squash. There are so many recipes and articles telling us to use it as a substitute for spaghetti noodles and cover it with a marinara or meat sauce. I’ve tried that over the years, and I’m sorry but it just cannot take the place of pasta. Covered even in a really, really good spaghetti sauce, it still tastes like squash with spaghetti sauce. Eating it like that makes you crave real pasta very quickly.
I think it’s just better to eat it for what it is– spaghetti squash. Sauteed garlic spaghetti squash. I can definitely eat a big bowl of this.
Slice a medium sized spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.
Remove the seeds and rinse out each half.
Place them cut side down in a baking pan filled with about a half an inch of water. Bake for 30-40 minutes, then cool them enough to handle.
Turn them over and use a fork to scrape out those beautiful strands.
They should be soft, but still a little crunchy, which is good because we’ll be stir frying them in a bit.
My squash was about three pounds and gave me about 6 cups of squash strands.
Heat up some olive oil or grapeseed oil in a non-stick skillet. Add some fresh, minced garlic and stir it around for about 30 seconds before mixing in the spaghetti squash. Season with a few bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water.
I use chopsticks in one hand and a silicone spatula in my other hand stir fry the mixture. It only takes a couple of minutes for all the liquid to be absorbed. Cook a little longer if you like it softer.
Sprinkle on some chopped parsley, cilantro and/or crushed red chilies for a little kick.
Twirl it on your fork and dig in!
I served it with some yummy turkey potstickers (tofu potstickers for Quill).
- 1 medium sized Spaghetti Squash (about 3 lbs.)
- 3 T. Olive oil or Grapeseed oil
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 c. very hot water
- Chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)
- Crushed red chili peppers (optional)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Rinse out and place cutside down onto a baking pan filled with ½" of water. Bake 30-40 minutes until soft. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Scrape out squash strands with a fork.
- Heat oil in a non stick pan on medium high heat. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add squash. Use chopsticks in one hand and a heat resistant spatula in the other hand to mix in the garlic and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Dissolve the bouillon cubes the the hot water and add it to the pan. Continue cooking and mixing 3-4 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Cook longer if a softer texture is desired.
- Optional: garnish with chopped parsley, cilantro and/or crushed red chili peppers
