Hands up for stews, braised beef, mashed potatoes, turkey dinners (Thanksgiving is this weekend), spaghetti + meatballs oh, and hearty soups! ME!
Then hands up for a comfort food that’s not full of sauce! Me also! How about you?
October is the month the comforts ramp up for me. For example, I am wrapped in a blanket + sipping tea as I put this month’s recipe together.
Fall and its flavour profiles have me tight. The tea I am drinking right now is cinnamon, apples are heavily in my diet too. Besides the apple crumble I made last month, I have made many batches of homemade apple sauce. Apple sauce warmed and served over vanilla bean ice cream, it’s a treat all right!! Simply made and oh so satisfying!
Have you had spaghetti squash? It’s so cool how you shred it out of the shell after you’ve cooked it and it truly looks like long noods.
This dish is low in carbs but high in flavour. It’s quick and easy and like many dishes I make it great for leftovers or throw the extras in the freezer for later.
Cucurbita pepo is the botanical name for Spaghetti squash. It’s part of the Cucurbitasceae family right alongside pumpkins, zukes + gourds. These are all in season now and we’ll see them pretty much everywhere! Nutrients include vitamin C + vitamin B6.
How about having this as a side dish to your Thanksgiving feast this weekend. A great make ahead.
1 Spaghetti Squash, medium
5 Kale leaves
Olive oil
3 + 3 TBSP Butter
2-3 cloves Garlic
½ – ¾ C Vegetable broth
½ + ¼ C Parmesan Cheese (freshly grated is best)
Salt
Pepper
Remove from the oven and let it sit to cool until it is easier to handle.
Prep your spaghetti squash – cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, lightly coat it with olive oil. Place inside facing down on a sheet pan and bake in a 350 oven for approximately 45-55 minutes or until it is fork tender.
Scrap out the long strands with a fork. Cool huh?! And put it in a bowl. Keep your squash skins.
Wash and thinly slice the kale leaves and add to the warm spaghetti squash strands. MIx to incorporate.
Add in ½ C grated parmesan cheese. Set
In a saucepan over medium heat melt ½ your butter when melted and add in garlic. Let the flavours meld for about one minute. Add veggie broth and simmer until reduced by about half.
Add remaining butter 1 TBSP at a time.
Next you can either add spaghetti squash to the sauce stirring to combine (I find tongs work well here) and heat through, top with parmesan and serve or you can place the spaghetti squash back into the squash shell top with parmesan and serve … it’s picture worthy! 😉
Before you thinly slice your kale, make sure the center rib is taken out.
I’ve given you a bit of leeway with the liquid portion of this dish – If you’d like it creamier, I’d suggest more liquid. All personal preference.
BIG LOVE!!
All ingredients for this recipe you can find at all 3 City Avenue Market locations – New Westminster, Port Coquitlam + Commercial Drive
