Typically I use spaghetti squash as a base for red sauce, a replacement for a delicious Italian meal but I switched that up and tried a Mediterranean twist.
If you haven’t made spaghetti squash before you are definitely missing out! Go out and buy a spaghetti squash today! It’s simple to prepare, cut the ends of the squash off, cut the squash in half (be careful with this part, it can be hard to get the knife through and several times have gotten close to cutting my hand) and clean out the guts. Drizzle the insides with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper then put on a baking sheet with the insides face down and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes or until a fork easily pokes through the outside. Once the spaghetti squash cools so you can handle it, take a fork and run the fork from the top to the bottom of the inside, it comes out looking like spaghetti then, hence why it’s called spaghetti squash.
Now to get back to the dish I made, I used this recipe from Kalyns Kitchen.
I actually cooked the spaghetti squash the night before making this dish, it made it quicker for me to make the meal at night after work and my workout. The spaghetti squash was drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and seasoned with Italian seasoning.
The original recipe uses mushrooms but I despise mushrooms so I skipped that step. I chopped two small zucchinis and half an onion and sauteed over medium heat in two teaspoons of olive oil.
While the veggies were cooking for about 5 minutes, I drained a 12 oz jar of artichoke hearts that were already quartered, I halved a cup of grape tomatoes and a half a cup of kalamata olives.
Once the zucchini and onion were softened I seasoned with two teaspoons of minced garlic and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning and let that cook for a couple minutes.
I wisked together half a cup of chicken stock and two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
I poured the mixture in with the seasoned zucchini and onion and let that cook for five minutes. Then, added in the tomatoes, olives and artichokes along with a drained and rinsed can of Great Northern White Beans (not part of the original recipe). I let that cook for two minutes.
I stirred in the spaghetti squash that I cooked the night before to heat through along with 3/4 cup of feta cheese. Before serving I sprinkled 1/4 cup of feta and about 1/4 cup of chopped green onions. Even though this photo does not look appetizing at all, the taste was 100% there and I can not wait to play around with this flavor more.
From the original recipe I omitted the mushrooms and added a can of Great Northern White Beans. Sauteed chicken would also be a great addition to the dish. See the original recipe here for the Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Sauteed with Vegetables and Feta.
What are some other ways that you have used spaghetti squash that doesn’t involve red sauce?
Testing and Trying My Thirties 