In the Kitchen with The Anxious Enthusiast

Fall Recipes: Easy Spaghetti Squash

Recipes for Anxious Chefs #7

Fall foods are some of my favorite indulgences; I crave them all year round. As much as I speak for eating produce that is in season, I am delighted to find squash whenever I can. This recipe for Easy Spaghetti Squash is fabulous at any time of year. It strokes my desire for a full belly, Italian simplicity, French flavor, restful nights, and easy mornings.

This past weekend I was pleased beyond measure to find the fresh and decadent pale yellow that is spaghetti squash at my local market. Squashes have a lovely, lengthy shelf life, but they are so much better close to their harvest.

As I age, I am coming to know the consequences of decadent evenings full with pasta, richness, sauces, wine, salt, sugar, and caffeine. That does not mean that I do not revel in these evenings; I live them languid with pleasure.

This pleasure, however, does not great sleep make, and as much as I practice allowing myself the joys of decadence for my mental health, it does not do me or my anxious mind well to forgo the pleasure of a good night’s sleep for decadence every evening.

Does this mean that I cannot enjoy the food that I eat on non-decadent nights? Am I doomed to dreary dinners of steamed carrots and dry chicken breast or *gulp* celery broth? Where o where do I turn for culinary satisfaction and the wellness of succulent slumber?

Enter the sweet, buttery fullness of harvest squash.

Let’s get in the kitchen.

The Recipe, Serves 2–4

What you need for Easy Spaghetti Squash:

One Spaghetti Squash

Olive Oil, 2–3 tablespoons

Butter, 2–3 tablespoons

S&P

Fresh Garlic & Herbs (Optional)

One Quarter Sheet Pan or Roasting Dish: covered in aluminum foil for easy clean-up.

One Spoon and One Fork: standard, eating variety.

Spaghetti Squash: these are bulbous and oblong yellow orbs that look a bit like an overfilled football. When you pick them out at the store, they will sound a bit hollow when tapped but the skin will feel smooth to the touch and it will carry heavy, especially if it is fresh and in season. They often will have a sticker for confirmation, shown below.

Olive Oil: use what you have. For roasting, it is said to be best to use regular olive oil instead of extra virgin so that things don’t get smokey. In our house, we often have extra virgin on hand. I have used it many times for this application and have never noticed a difference. You may also use vegetable oil.

S&P: I use kosher or sea salt and fresh cracked pepper from our table grinders. Freshly cracked peppercorns have turned me from pepper hater to pepper fiend. If you think that pepper is the worst like I did, your world may be turned upside down in a fabulous way with the purchase of full peppercorns and this ratchet. I have two in constant use, one for black peppercorns and one for Himalayan sea salt.

Garlic & Herbs: if you have a spaghetti squash but find yourself without fresh garlic cloves or fresh herbs, do not let it keep you from delicious eats. I love to use a few fresh leaves of sage, oregano, basil, or thyme dropped into the center of each squash half before roasting; it makes an earthy, dripping infused butter that leaves the pale yellow flesh of your spaghetti squash tasting sultry and full with flavor.

As a substitute, you may use a sprinkling of dried herbs like oregano or thyme. Herbs de Provence is my favorite choice for this application. If you don’t have dried herbs or fresh, salt and pepper are sufficient for seasoning.

Step 1: The Cut & Scoop

Rinse and lightly wipe the outside of your spaghetti squash to remove any dirt and remove the paper sticker if there is one. Using a large chef’s knife, cut your squash lengthwise to create two oblong halves, creating what looks like two squash “boats” from stem to button end.

Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and central, stringy filling from the middle of your squash “boat” into a trash can or separate container for compost. Continue scraping until all of the seeds and stringy, sort of furry bits are gone and the texture of the flesh beneath the spoon has a hard, albeit impressionable ropiness.

Step 2: The Stab & Slick

Stab the interior and thick, fleshy wall tops of your squash boat with a fork over and over, creating a blanket of superficial air and oil pockets. These pockets act as openings for flavor infiltration and provide a greater surface area for roasting while allowing steam to escape.

Drizzle a tablespoon or more olive oil into the middle of each boat and using your hands, slick the oil all around the inside and the outside of both squash halves. When you are done, all visible squash surfaces will shine.

Step 3: Flavor Confetti

Season the thick tops of the walls and interiors of your squash boats with salt — approximately half a teaspoon of salt split between the two halves — and a few ratchets of fresh cracked pepper.

In the center of your squash boats, add to each half: 3 cloves of whole, unpeeled garlic, 1.5 tablespoons of salted butter in small chunks or pinches, and 1/8 teaspoon or a pinch of dried or a few torn leaves of fresh herb of choice.

Step 4: Bake & Serve

Roast spaghetti squash halves in a 400-degree oven for 35 minutes, or until the tops of the thick walls are browned and a fork stuck along the skin sinks deep, pulling long, plump spaghetti strands with ease.

Once removed from the oven, allow for 5 minutes rest before serving to give the butter and herby, squash stock time to reintegrate. Bon Appetit!

Serving Options:

Serve it As Shakshuka Boats: using the halves of this roasted squash as vessels for tomato sauce and baked eggs, with or without cheese. See my recipe for Every Season Vegetable Shakshuka, skipping step 1.

Serve it Simply, Vegan: scooping out into a dish or pulling away from the sides to serve inside of the squash and topping with toasted walnuts, sauteed asparagus tips, a sprinkle of fresh basil, a bit more cracked pepper and/or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Serve it Low Carb, Instead of Pasta: as a delightful substitution for many pasta dishes.

Serve it Loaded: spooning onto a baking tray for family-style or into ramekins for individual servings and dressing like your favorite pizza (e.g. tomato sauce, pepperoni, cheese), nachos (e.g. taco meat, salsa or pico, shredded cheese, peppers), macaroni cheese (e.g. cheese sauce or queso, diced cooked chicken, jalapeno, bacon), or baked potato (e.g. shredded cheese, steamed broccoli, S&P). Baking in a 425-degree oven for 5–7 minutes or until you begin to see color and crispy bits.

Serve it Like The Anxious Enthusiast: as Shakshuka, eaten right out of the squash with a variety of melty, flavorful cheeses browned to almost burned and beautiful, glossy green peas sprinkled over top.

Please feel free to check out my profile: Brett Jenae Tomlin. Comment below if we have something in common, if you have anxiety or if you like what you’ve read. Do you have any questions for me?

If you love, love, love my writing and want to shout out, “You get it, anxious girl!” You can contribute to my cookbook collection here.

A Few More Articles for the Anxious Reader

On Comfort Food: Weekend Ratatouille

On Autumn: Equinox Love: A List of Mindful Ways to Feel Fall

On Wine: Giving Wine is the Best Kind of Adulting

On Travel: Six Mental Health Benefits of Learning to Play

On Body Image: Summer Body, Part 1

On Coming Out: My Bi Life, Part 1