Garlic parsley spaghetti squash is a wonderful vegetarian dish. It comes together easily and quickly. Fresh pungent garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese paired with long, light crunchy squash strands. Enjoy this scrumptious meal in less than 30 minutes.
I love fall: the colourful nature, the leaves falling off the trees and of course pumpkins. Yes. Pumpkins are the fruits of the fall season. They come in different shapes, sizes and colours. I am sure you all know the cute orange Hokkaido pumpkin, right? Then there is the butternut squash, the muscat pumpkin and this recipe’s star, the spaghetti squash.
This winter squash has hard, pale yellow skin and yellow flesh. Spaghetti squash comes into season around early fall and you can find it in stores till winter. It can be prepared in many ways, such as cooking, boiling, baking, steaming or in a microwave as well. The spaghetti-like strands can be served with or without sauce.
Its mild, lightly sweet and nutty flavour is great to pair with anything you like. For instance, serve it like pasta, add it to a salad, toss it with some toasted nuts and cheese or just top it with some melted butter. Simply delicious. Its gentle crunch makes it also a great base for soups and curries.
Why is it called spaghetti squash?
Let me tell you, that it is not filled with spaghetti. Wink. It got its name because when cooked, the flesh falls off in yellow-gold strands or ribbons that look like spaghetti. Therefore, it becomes a frequent pasta alternative. Although, it doesn’t have the same texture or flavour as real spaghetti. Wink.
In comparison to pasta, these “spaghetti” are healthier. In fact, spaghetti squash is low in calories but, at the same time, packed with several key vitamins (B and C), fiber and minerals. So go on and buy yourself a squash. Wink.
Tips:
Since the skin is very hard, be careful when halving it. Use a sharp paring knife to make several slits along the line you are going to cut it in half lengthwise. And maybe ask someone for help holding it in place or place a dish towel underneath it. Then make a deeper cut and open it up.
In addition, you might like these other pumpkin recipes as well: pumpkin feta flammkuchen, a beautiful roasted Hasselback butternut squash, a comforting baked Camembert cheese stuffed pumpkin or this pumpkin chicken burger.
Ingredients for 2 halves of garlic parsley spaghetti squash:
- 1 spaghetti squash
- olive oil
- butter
- 5 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
- fresh parsley
- 70-100 g Parmesan cheese
- sea salt and pepper
To begin, preheat the oven to 200° C. Carefully halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Brush each half with some olive oil, season with sea salt and place them (cut side down) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in the oven and roast for 40-45 minutes until tender or lightly browned on the outside.
Once the squash is tender, remove it from the oven, flip it around and allow it to chill for a couple of minutes. Then, using a fork, scrape the flesh into spaghetti strands. In order to make the scraping easier, place the fluffy spaghetti strands into a larger bowl. Keep the skin shells.
In a larger pan, heat some olive oil. Stir in the chopped garlic and parsley. Once the garlic gets tender, reduce the heat and add the spaghetti strands. Sprinkle with some parmesan cheese and toss to combine.
Finally, return the thyme garlic parsley spaghetti squash back into the hollowed skins and garnish with some more fresh parsley and cheese.
Enjoy.
