Move over, fiancé. For budding chef Erin Gahagan, there's a new crush in town.
Love is in the air, and this year I have a brand-new apple of my eye (apologies to my fiancé). My new crush? Spaghetti squash. How have I been living life—totally unaware of its existence—for this long?
Erin's new love: the spaghetti squash While out to dinner last month, I noticed an Italian-inspired dish made with “spaghetti squash” on the menu. Wow, I thought, that is brilliant. Make the “noodles” out of squash instead of carb-laden pasta, and your dinner instantly gets healthier. So I ordered it, loved it, and lamented the fact that I didn’t own whatever fancy gadget I assumed I needed to make spaghetti squash at home.
A couple weeks later, I was thinking about that glorious meal (so I enjoy mentally reliving meals, ok?) and decided to see just how much it would cost me to obtain the necessary equipment . That’s when Google gave me the shock of my life.
“Spaghetti squash” does not refer to a method of cutting squash, as I’d assumed. Rather, it is the name of specific type of squash that makes the “noodles” within itself simply by being cooked.
“Spaghetti squash” does not refer to a method of cutting squash, as I’d assumed. Rather, it is the name of specific type of squash that makes the “noodles” within itself simply by being cooked.
The instructions popping up in every search result told me all I had to do was purchase this mythical “spaghetti squash” at the grocery store, cut it in half, clean out the seeds, and then put it in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes. After that, the squash’s insides would simply fall out into noodle-like strands.
I thought for sure I was reading it wrong. Nothing this healthy and delicious could possibly be so easy. But link after link assured me that, in fact, it was that easy.
Obviously I immediately rushed to the grocery store and purchased two large spaghetti squash. They were pretty big and heavy, and therefore a semi-pricey produce purchase, but I was willing to risk it for the chance this might actually work.
I thought for sure I was reading it wrong. Nothing this healthy and delicious could possibly be so easy. But link after link assured me that, in fact, it was that easy.
Obviously I immediately rushed to the grocery store and purchased two large spaghetti squash. They were pretty big and heavy, and therefore a semi-pricey produce purchase, but I was willing to risk it for the chance this might actually work.
Seedy process I cut both squash in half, pulled out the seeds (much like you would when carving a pumpkin), dusted the four halves with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and placed them face down on foil-lined cookie sheets. Then into the oven they went –450 degrees for 40 minutes—followed by a painful (for impatient ol’ me) 5- to 10-minute cool-down period. It worked! It actually worked!
Into the oven ...
Scrape with a fork or spoon I was gleeful as I scraped at the innards with a spoon and they just fell out, into the promised spaghetti-like strands, straight into my bowl. Literally everything comes out of these suckers, straight down to the skin. There is no waste! The strands just kept pouring out. And out, and out. Those two squash yielded so many “noodles” I could’ve hosted my own spaghetti (squash) dinner. So, memo to file, one spaghetti squash is definitely enough to feed two people.
Top with marinara sauce Topped with some marinara sauce, this was a real treat of a meal. I felt like I unlocked some high-level secret and pretty much didn’t stop talking (and Tweeting and writing) about it for days.
Of course, as it turns out, much of the world is already aware of this genius fruit (while hotly debated on the Internet, it seems spaghetti squash is technically a fruit). The masterminds behind The Vegan Cheat Sheet were on to its glories long before the great Gahagan Squash Revelation of 2014. In their “Sauce on Top” recipe section (page 126), they suggest spaghetti squash as a go-to base and offer recipes for seven amazing-looking sauces to pair it with.
Hmmm, seven sauces. . .now I can continue my love affair every single day of the week. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Share your food crushes with Erin on Twitter, @erin1217.
Of course, as it turns out, much of the world is already aware of this genius fruit (while hotly debated on the Internet, it seems spaghetti squash is technically a fruit). The masterminds behind The Vegan Cheat Sheet were on to its glories long before the great Gahagan Squash Revelation of 2014. In their “Sauce on Top” recipe section (page 126), they suggest spaghetti squash as a go-to base and offer recipes for seven amazing-looking sauces to pair it with.
Hmmm, seven sauces. . .now I can continue my love affair every single day of the week. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Share your food crushes with Erin on Twitter, @erin1217.
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