Monday, October 24, 2011

Spaghetti Squash Bake with Homemade Sauce

I am so excited to share with you my favourite meal from last week.  It's INSANELY simple, incredibly flavourful and a real crowd pleaser.  I decided to make this after I made the Vegan Butternut Squash Lasagne, which was yummy, but lacked red sauce! ;)    So without further adieu....

Spaghetti Squash Bake
with Homemade Sauce 
Simple, savoury and scrumptious. 
A fun and easy way to get more veg into your diet.


I ♥ red sauce and every good chef mom, needs a good sauce recipe!  I have a number of different variations in my repertoire, with my favourite being my mother-in-law's.  Her sauce is an authentic  Sicilian recipe which is mouthwatering, but takes me all day to make. I knew I didn't have all day to simmer a sauce so I turned to this quick version. And while I won't be sharing the super secret family recipe, I'm happy to pass along this. :D

Sauce

12* Roma tomatoes, halved and stemmed
3 Cups strained tomatoes (not roasted)
1 Cup button mushrooms
1.5 Cups sautéed mixed greens 
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Basil 
Cloves of garlic**
Olive oil 
Salt and Pepper

*The more tomatoes, the more sauce.
**To taste.  Start by adding 2 at a time and adjust accordingly

PLACE tomatoes on a baking sheet 
DRIZZLE with olive oil and season with salt and pepper 
ADD fresh thyme
SLOW roast in a 175° oven for a minimum of 12 hours. I do mine overnight
PUREE the roasted tomatoes with 4-5 leaves of fresh basil and garlic.

~At this point you can leave the mixture "as is" for a nice chunky sauce. Just simmer on the stove and Enjoy!!  OR...

ADD 2-3 cups of strained tomatoes and pulse until incorporated
ADD water to the mixture to create your desired consistency. I wanted a thinner sauce and think I used 2-3 cups but honestly I eyeballed it. 
ADD mushrooms and mixed greens 
SIMMER in a saucepan until heated through
ENJOY!




Using spaghetti squash in place of traditional noodles is one of my favourite tricks to use when I'm craving pasta and trying to limit my carb intake.  It really mimics the texture of wheat noodles better than most other options, and it's one of my kids' favourite too.  I wasn't trying to avoid carbs here, it was just a nice bonus!

Noodles

2 large Spaghetti squash

CUT spaghetti squash in halve and scoop out the seeds and fibres
SEASON with salt and pepper and place on baking sheet
BAKE in a 350° oven for 1 hour or until the inside is tender
REMOVE from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
SCRAPE out the flesh of the squash using a fork. It will separate like spaghetti

For a special treat I baked the "noodles" with vegan ricotta cheese and mozzarella Daiya to create a deconstructed lasagne of sorts.



ADD two cups of sauce to the bottom of a casserole dish
TOP with "noodles"
TOP with 1 cup (approx) vegan ricotta cheese
SPRINKLE with vegan parmesan topping
COVER with sauce
TOP with Daiya
BAKE covered in a 350° oven for 20 minutes
UNCOVER and continue to bake for 5 minutes
ENJOY


This was soooooo tasty and really hit the spot. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Peace and Love,

JorDanna



2 comments:

  1. I've been trying to get a hold of you, ladystardust! You won my giveaway on Vegan Noms & should have an e-mail from me earlier this week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Huzzah!!! I've emailed you back :) Thank you soooooo much xo

    ReplyDelete