Spaghetti squash

If you haven't tried spaghetti squash because you weren't sure what to do with it, well, I'm hoping this post will change your mind. I like to keep one on hand as an easy dinner.  It keeps well in the pantry (2-3 weeks in a cool dry place) is full of fiber, and it's yummy!
To prepare it, preheat your oven to 375F. Use a large solid knife to carefully cut the squash in half the long ways, in order to make 2 "boats". Be very careful when cutting! Put the squash on a towel so it doesn't slip on the counter or cutting board.Take care that the knife is not going towards you body. I usually put the point of the knife in and then pull it down to cut half way, flip the squash over and repeat to open it up. Drizzle each half with just a little olive oil and place upside down on a Silpat (see orechiette blog) lined baking sheet. Roast for 30-35 minutes. You should be able to insert a knife fairly easily into the back. It will have a little resistance but not be hard. When you take it out of the oven, turn it over and there should be nice golden edges.

Now comes the fun part...first remove the seeds and then you can either scoop the squash (it comes out in shreds, hence the name) into a bowl and drizzle with a little more olive oil, salt and pepper and just serve it like that as a delicious side OR...get creative and use it like you would noodles. If you have left over pasta sauce just scoop right over the boats and you have dinner for 2. You can cut the boats into wedges and top them with leftovers like fajitas, meatballs, roasted vegetables...
The squash does not have a dominant flavor so it's always a good idea to give it a little olive drizzle and sprinkle of salt and pepper before adding anything to it.
Tonight I am preparing a topping which is vegetarian friendly. I sauteed half an onion with a few mushrooms and threw in 3 big handfuls of chopped kale and 1 clove of garlic. I seasoned it all with a little Moroccan spice (Ras el Hanout) and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. I scooped about 1/4C. nonfat ricotta cheese into the warm squash boat. I topped that with the hot mushroom/kale mixture. I then topped that with an over easy egg and finished with some chopped parsley!

The Producer put some Sriracha sauce on his and I followed suit. It was a good idea!
Enjoy!
xo MamaP

Orecchiette with red kabocha squash, leeks and collard greens

I was at the Farmer's Market on Sunday and Fall was announcing herself loudly with squash and persimmons spilling from every stall. So not having much willpower at a Farmer's Market, I found myself with a collection of beautiful hard skinned squash on my counter. I decided to roast some and pair it with the orecchiette (little ear shaped pasta) I had in my pantry. (This recipe would work well with most heartier pasta). So I dug through my fridge and pulled out some leeks and collard greens and parmigiano cheese. I knew I had some veg stock in the pantry and sage outside in my patio pots so ta da... dinner for the hungry producer is in the works!
I'm giving you the recipe for 4 servings even though I prepared for 2 so know the food in the photos will be 1/2 of what you might be preparing:

Ingredients:
1 pound pasta ( I used orecchiette)
1 1-2 pound red kabocha squash
2 leeks
4-5 collard green leaves
1 cup veg. stock
6 sage leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/3 c parmigiano cheese
Olive oil
Salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F
Start by prepping all of your ingredients to make for easy assembly.
Clean your leeks and slice them into thin slices. Finely chop the garlic and chiffonade the collards. Chiffonade is a thin ribbon slice. Wash the greens , roll them into a fat cigar shape and slice across to make thin ribbons. cut the ribbons down the middle to make shorter ribbons, or you will have collards hanging from your mouth.

Cut the Kabocha in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into slices about 1/2-3/4" thick and peel these slices. Cut the slices into chunks and toss with 1 T olive oil and a decent pinch of salt and 3-4 turns of the pepper mill. Roast in a 375 oven for 17-20 minutes until the edges look nice and colored. i always roast veggies on a Silpat but you can also use parchment or foil so your veggies don't stick.

You can see the nicely colored edges here

Heat a skillet (to med/high) big enough to hold all of the ingredients when added...I always prefer my trusty cast iron skillet.
Also start you pasta water on high at this point following the quantity directions on the package.

Add 1 T. olive oil and saute the leeks getting them just golden but not browned or they will become bitter. Once they start to get just a little gold on them, toss in the garlic, finely chopped sage and collards and keep pushing them around the pan until the collards and garlic soften. Add in the cup of broth and turn the heat to low and simmer very slowly just to soften the greens more  and meld all of the flavors. Taste for salt and pepper and add as needed.

Hopefully your pasta water is now boiling so you can cook you pasta per the time on the package.
When the pasta is finished stir in 1-2 T of the pasta water into collards and leeks. Add the pasta to the greens and stir in the roasted squash. Taste again for one last seasoning adjustment and then serve with a generous snow of finely grated parmigianno on top. If you want to be a little fancier, fry up a couple more sage leaves in either butter or olive oil and use as a garnish.

Enjoy!!!!
xo MAMAP