Spaghetti Squash with Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce

Let me set the record straight: I am not a low-carb cook. 

Quite the opposite: I’m carb crazy! All fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates. Yes, my recipes avoid processed foods and processed sugars, and are always whole-grain. When it comes to the natural carbohydrates nature provides, I will always say: “Yes, please! Are there enough for seconds?!”

This meal is for every hard working person out there, who wants to be health conscious but isn’t interested in spending 45 minutes in the kitchen after being at work all day. Here’s what I want you to do: put the squash in the oven and the sauce on the stove and then don’t step back to bother them for at least 30 minutes. No offense, but they won’t need you. Nature will make dinner for you, just apply heat. Don’t you need to answer a few emails? Isn’t high time you caught up on the news? Please get out of your kitchen and relax until dinner’s ready.

Ingredients:

1 large yellow Spaghetti Squash

A sprinkle of Salt

A pinch of Pepper

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 can Muir Glen Organic Fire-Roasted Tomatoes

4 Roma Tomatoes, diced small

2 small White Onions, finely chopped

1 small green Zucchini, diced small

2 teaspoons of minced Garlic

1 tablespoon of dried Parsley

2 teaspoons of Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon of dried Basil

½ teaspoon of Smoked Paprika

¼ teaspoon ground Black Pepper

1 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary*

½ teaspoon Fresh Thyme*

3 Basil leaves broken with your fingers

*If you don’t have fresh Herbs then dried varieties will work just fine, just half the quantities. Instead of fresh Basil, add another ½ teaspoon of dried.

Directions:

I meant every word I wrote at the start of this recipe. I want you to preheat your oven for 350*F. Cut your Spaghetti Squash in half and spoon out the seeds, sprinkle with the dash of salt and pepper, place the halves in the oven on a baking sheet; and then leave them completely alone for about 30 minutes.

Next, put all the sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir to make sure it’s mixed well, and the cover and leave it alone to simmer until the squash is done. If you must go back and check on it, give the sauce a soft stir, and then recover it. Don’t play with it too much or you’ll mash the tomatoes, which add nice texture.

When the 30 minutes are up and you return to your kitchen, you’ll see your sauce is a deeper shade of red (perfect!) and your squash is ready to scoop. Use a large fork to rake the spaghetti strings of squash out of the hulls, and toss it gently with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. This will keep the individual strands from sticking together and it will also spin nicely on your fork when you eat it. Stir the sauce gently with a spoon and serve it over the warm squash.

Easy. Delicious. Nutritious. 

Just the way we like our food here under the Eden Tree. Enjoy!

This recipe is:

- Vegan

- Gluten-Free

-Whole-food