Spaghetti Squash Is Not Pasta (and That's All Right With Me)

I keep pinning new recipes to my Pinterest Cooking board, so I have to keep trying new recipes.  I don't want my Cooking board to get too full.  Once I try a recipe, I move it to a different board.  I had found a recipe for spaghetti squash months ago but hadn't tried it.  Spaghetti squashes were on sale when I went to the grocery store so I decided to try the recipe.  I've had spaghetti squash before, but I didn't like it as a substitute for pasta.  I kind of have an issue with foods trying to be substitutes for other foods to make dishes more healthy or lower calorie (I refuse to use the word "skinny." I want to scream every time I hear that word used to describe food or drink.).  There's generally a reason I like a dish a specific way.  If I'm going to eat spaghetti squash, I'm going to eat squash--not fake pasta.

Because I can't leave well-enough alone, I started looking at more spaghetti squash recipes.  I stumbled across 2 baked dishes, one featuring squash with chard and another with squash as a Carbonara type dish.  I decided to mash-up the two recipes and see how it turned out.  They were pretty similar recipes with eggs & cheese as a base.  I love a good Carbonara dish, so I used that recipe as a start and threw in spinach (instead of chard) and some spices.

It turned out good. Lots of flavor, but not too rich or heavy.  I liked the combination of veggies with the eggs, cheese, and spices--a little rich but lots of freshness from the squash & spinach.

Here's my version of the dish:

Baked Spaghetti Squash & Spinach Carbonara

3 cups cooked spaghetti squash
4 cups uncooked baby spinach, torn into pieces
4 ounces pancetta, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 large eggs
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cups coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch (or similar) baking dish.

In a heavy skillet, cook the pancetta over medium heat until it starts to get crispy and much of the fat is rendered off.  Pour off much of the fat.  Add the onions and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until soft and beginning to brown. Add the spinach and saute until wilted. Remove from the heat.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs, then whisk in the ricotta. Fold in the cooked bacon, spinach, and onions, then 1/2 cup of grated cheese and the spices.

Mix the squash strings into the egg and onion mixture. Spread in the baking dish and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until firm and golden on top.  Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Squash Casserole Recipe

A few people asked about the recipe for squash casserole I mentioned a few times on facebook. This recipe is adapted from another recipe (see below), but I tweaked it a bit after making it the first time to cut some of the extra fat and to obtain a firmer, less soggy result. Don't get me wrong...it tasted great making it just as printed, but I found that leaving out some of the extra fat it called for didn't affect its taste and gave a firmer texture.

Summer Squash Casserole
adapted from "Summer Squash Casserole with Nuts" by Paula on allrecipes.com
8 servings

Ingredients

1 pound summer squash, sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon milk
1 egg
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
4 ounces sliced pancetta, cooked & drained (blot off any extra fat)-optional
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add squash, and cook until tender. Drain well.

3. Place squash in a large mixing bowl. Mash well. If there seems to be a lot of extra liquid, drain some off so you won't end up with a soggy result. Mix bell pepper, sugar, onion, egg, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, cheese, nuts, and pancetta (optional) to the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs. Dot with the butter.

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes.

5. Allow casserole to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I've also made this recipe with bacon instead of pancetta, but the result was not tasty. For some reason, the bacon got rubbery during the baking of the casserole, but the pancetta didn't. Once when we were out of pecans, I used walnuts which turned out pretty good.

When you cut up the squash to cook it, you can scrape out the seeds or leave them in. I've made this both ways. If you leave the seeds in, you'll end up with more liquid when you mash the squash, but you can just drain some of it off. I usually leave the seeds in unless they are really large and tough.