Spaghetti Squash with Cream Sauce

There are some foods that baffle me.  I just have no idea how nature got it so right. Spaghetti squash is one of those things!  Is it just coincidence that this lovely vegetable happens to break up into perfect little strands that resemble one of our everyday meals?

Could it be the sign of a higher power?

I’m not really sure.  But I do know that spaghetti squash can be darn good stuff!

Now, the very astute reader might note that I’ve posted a very similar recipe on Macheesmo.  So why the reposting?  First, I think this post does a better job at explaining how to deal with the squash.  Second, I like the recipe a lot so I thought it was worth bringing back from the archives.  Third, it’s not the exact same recipe.

Preparing Spaghetti Squash.  Spaghetti squash can be large.  Most tend to weigh in the 3-5 pound range.  Below is a good way to cut open any large gourd and also I walk through how to cook this magical veggie.  Before you get to slicing though, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Step One.  Stab it!  Ok.  Not like homicidal maniac stab, but seriously stab it.  With a large chef knife, find the exact center of it and give it a good poke.  Press gently and the knife should slide through until it hits your cutting board.  If your knife doesn’t go all the way through, that’s okay.  Don’t force it.

Step Two. Slice it!  Now just press down gently on your knife to slice the squash in half!  Seriously, be careful here people.  I don’t want any injuries.

Step 3. Repeat!  Do the same thing going the other direction.  The second cut will be even easier.

Step 4. Scrape!  Get a large spoon and scrape out all the guts and seeds from each half of the gourd.  At this point, this thing will in no way resemble spaghetti.  Hang in there.

Step 5.  Stab it again!  Turn each half face down in a large baking dish and stab the skin a few times with a fork.  Now you can take out some aggression!

Step 6. Bake it!  These guys will need to bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes.  Plan accordingly!  Let them cool for a few minutes before moving on.

Step 7. Scrape it again!  Using a fork, gently scrape at the flesh of the squash.  It should start to kind of peel away in these delicious little strands that look exactly like spaghetti.

It should just take a minute or two to shred up both squash halves.  It’s goes really fast once you get the hang of it.

Making the sauce. About 10 minutes before your squash is done, you should start working on the cream sauce.  This is a really easy sauce that I threw together.  You could add lots of different veggies to it or you could add a few tablespoons of white wine or chicken stock to lighten it up a bit.

Mushroom Cream Sauce

- 8 ounces mushrooms (white button or cremini mushrooms work great).  Slice them into quarters.
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 4-5 ounces spinach, washed
- 1 Cup cream
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper

To make the sauce, add your olive oil to a saute pan over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add your onions and cook for a minute or two until they are translucent.  Then add your mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes until they are soft and have released their moisture.

Add the cream and turn down the heat to low.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit.  Then add your spinach in two batches.  It should wilt really quickly.  Taste for salt and pepper and stir in your Dijon if you’re using it.  I think it gives the finished sauce a nice little kick.

Serve the sauce right over the spaghetti squash, just like pasta!

I think this is a really easy dish to make but it’s also really impressive.  Most people just don’t know what to do with spaghetti squash I think so it can really wow a guest.  Meanwhile all you did was stab a gourd a few times and bake it!

Spaghetti squash are only available for a few months in Fall so if you want to give this a shot, now’s the time!