Spaghetti Squash with Marinara & Focaccia

Let me start off by saying that it’s quite obvious that I’m a squash lover. Most of my family and friends are aware of this and if you didn’t know it yet, you soon will! I love all types of squash; the light and crisp summer squashes, the hearty fall and winter squashes with their hard shells and squashes with unique textures that are great for substituting noodles in pasta dishes!

The post today is about how much I love spaghetti squash and a great marinara sauce for it. Spaghetti squash is great for casseroles as well as pseudo pasta dishes, and is so easy to prepare that you’ll wonder why you even bothered to boil some starchy store bought noodles for your awesome sauce (whichever one you like). I prefer to bake mine, but if I’m running out of time I use the microwave; so now you have no excuses NOT to use this wonderful specimen of a squash. 😉

I made this dish while in New York, so that my cousin could try out some of my cooking. It went terrifically with the Mediterranean Focaccia that I made, and the crisp romaine salad with yellow cherry tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. This dish would also be great with some garlic bread and putting black olives in the marinara would definitely take it up a notch!

Ingredients (Servings: 4)

• 6 Medium-Sized Tomatoes, Roughly Chopped
• 10 Pieces of Sun Dried Tomato
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/4 Cup White Onions, Diced
• 4 Button Mushrooms, Chopped
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
• 1/4 tsp. Dried Parsley
• 1/4 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
• Salt to Taste
• 1 Medium-Sized Spaghetti Squash, Roughly 4 Cups Once Scraped Out

Directions:

1. Wash off your spaghetti squash and slice it in half. Place face down on a baking dish and fill the bottom with water until it is about 1/4″ high and poke several holes in the rind with a fork. Bake at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes or until the rind is soft when you poke it.
   
2. While that is baking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in oil until the onions are clear. In the meantime place the fresh and the sun dried tomatoes into a food processor or blender and puree until completely smooth, you may need to do this in two batches depending on how big your appliance is.
3. Pour the tomato mixture into the pan along with the mushrooms and herbs/spices. Stir together and let simmer for 15 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. When the spaghetti squash is done baking, what 5-10 minutes for it to cool slightly and scrape out the insides with a fork. Drain it in a colander if there is a lot of excess moisture, then mix it into the marinara sauce. Serve warm and top with a pinch of nutritional yeast if you want the same effect as Parmesan cheese.