I’m sorry traditional pasta, but there’s a new player in town. I know we’ve been seeing each other a lot for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was a young girl eating plain white spaghetti with butter and mozzarella and evolved into a conscious “adult” making tasty whole wheat pasta with healthy sauces. Like this raw avocado-arugula sauce.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, I still love you, but you won’t see me as much. I’ve been reunited with an old flame. Spaghetti squash. I know I know, it’s not real spaghetti, but that’s the beauty of it, isn’t it?
It offers me so many things that you simply can’t. And I’m not talking about flowers and jewelry. You give me calories and carbs while spaghetti squash provides me with healthy nutrients.
I hope we can still be friends.
Love,
Aryane
How to Prepare a Spaghetti Squash
The first step is generally the same, cooking the squash. Here’s how I make it:
On a flat and stable surface, cut the squash lenghtwise with a sharp knife. Remove the seeds and strands with a spoon. **The seeds of all the winter squash can be roasted in the oven and are full of antioxydants, so don’t throw them out!
Cut a garlic clove in two and rub it on the inside of the squash. Brush with olive oil and add salt and pepper.
Place both halves flat side down on a cooking sheet. Add a bit of water to create vapour and place in the oven.
After 30 minutes, turn the squash to see if it’s cooked: it’s ready when a fork can be inserted all the way through the flesh. If not completely cooked, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Once tendre, remove the squash from the oven and turn to let them cool enough to be handled.
With a fork, remove strands of squash going from side to side. Remove all the flesh using a spoon for the bottom if necessary.
For today’s recipe, the following steps consist of preparing the sauce and coating the squash strands.
Once everything is well combined, place back inside the “squash bowl”. Don’t expect to fill both halves completely, I cheated a bit for the pictures. Shhhh.
Cover with the rest of the parmesan and the grated cheese and broil in the oven until everything is a beautiful golden colour.
Take out of the oven, sprinkle with fresh chive and enjoy.
If you try this recipe, make sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #valisesetgourmandises. I wanna see your creations! And don’t forget to leave a comment below :)
Lemon & Chive Spaghetti Squash Gratin
Ingredients
- 1 spaghetti squash
- 1 garlic clove cut in two
- Salt pepper
- Olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh chive
- CREAMY LEMON SAUCE
- 2 big garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- the juice of half a lemon
- 4 tablespoons plant cream soy or oat
- 3 + 2 tablespoons homemade cashew parmesan divided
- ¾ cup grated plant cheese such as Gusta
Instructions
- Wash the spaghetti squash. With a good knife, cut it in two lengthwise. With a spoon, remove the strands and the seeds. Keep the seeds to roast later.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200°C).
- Cut a garlic clove in two and rub it on the inside of the squash. Brush with olive oil and add salt & pepper.
- Place both halves flat side down on a cooking sheet. Add a bit of water to the pan to create vapour and place in the oven.
- After 30 minutes, turn the squash to see if it's cooked: it's ready when a fork can be inserted all the way through the flesh. If not completely cooked, put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Once tendre, remove the squash from the oven and turn to let them cool enough to be handled.
- With a fork, remove strands of squash going from side to side. Remove all the flesh using a spoon for the bottom if necessary.
- Now for the sauce, press the garlic in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes.
- In a large pan on medium heat, heat the pressed garlic and the pepper flakes in olive oil for about 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, the cooking cream, 3 tablespoons of parmesan and salt & pepper. Blend well and taste to adjust the flavours to your liking.
- Add the strands of spaghetti squash and mix well.
- Put the mixture inside the squash bowls (less dishes!). On each half, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of parmesan and enough grated cheese to cover.
- Broil in the oven until the cheese is a nice golden colour, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn them!
- Meanwhile, chop the chive.
- Once the squash halves are ready, place each on a plate if serving two people, sprinkle with chive and serve with a few lemon slices.
Notes
*I've slightly modified the recipe for a vegan version.
Related recipes
Raw cashew parmesan
Pasta with creamy avocado pesto
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