Featured recipe from Marilu’s table * Farmer’s Market Spaghetti Squash
We’re in a harvest season – the perfect time to take advantage of all the produce at the farmer’s market, where you can buy local and save money, too!
This recipe makes a great main course for veggies and vegans. It also becomes the perfect side dish in a protein meal, and it can be adapted to add pasta for a more “man-friendly” main course.
Farmer’s Market Spaghetti Squash
Purple as veggies only; Blue with pasta * serves 4-6
1 large Spaghetti Squash, roasted (procedure follows)
1 can (29 oz) organic tomato sauce
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 head broccoli florets
1 green (or any color) pepper, chopped into large dice
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1 Tablespoon dried
3 large leaves fresh basil sliced in chiffonade or 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
non-dairy parmesan (or nutritional yeast) to taste
Saute onion and garlic in 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Add the sauce from the can as soon as the onion and garlic are translucent but before the garlic can brown. Add to this the bay leaf, the oregano and the basil. Simmer on low for 20 to 30 minutes.
Add the broccoli, mushrooms and peppers. Simmer another 10 -15 minutes, but no longer than that. The idea is to keep crunch and texture in the vegetables. (They won’t be raw but you don’t want them cooked down to the point of being soft either.)
Use a fork to pull the strands away from the shell scoop the squash onto a serving platter.* Ladle the sauce down the center of the squash and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with soy or rice parmesan on the side.
*If using pasta as well: Prepare 1 pound whole wheat or whole spelt spaghetti according to package directions. Using two forks, mix prepared pasta with prepared spaghetti squash strands, so that the pasta and squash are completely intermingled.
To prepare the squash:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the outside of the squash well. Lay whole squash on a shallow pan and allow to bake for 20 minutes until skin is softened and allows for easy piercing with a fork. Remove the squash and slice in half lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds.
Lightly grease pan and replace squash halves, cut side down. Return to oven for an additional 20 minutes or until the sides are quite soft. Allow to cool 5 minutes before removing the squash from its shell to the serving platter.
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