Day 75: Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

No the title is not a typo: It's the name I use for yet another amazingly kid-friendly recipe from the Napa Valley impresario Michael Chiarello; please buy the source cookbook, available here, so he doesn't come after me with a lawyer! The dish is called "Spaghetti Times Two," which is a coy way of describing a pasta dish that contains spaghetti and spaghetti squash. It's difficult for me to convey in mere words how much I like this recipe. A vegan babysitter once told us: "This is the best pasta I've ever eaten." So, is that enough to persuade you to make this at home? I even uploaded the photo extra big so that the glistening strands of squash coated noodles practically jump into your mouth like, well, glistening strands of squash coated noodles. It's nutritious and truly, memorably delicious. What more could you ask of food? The Husband made this for dinner tonight and it was YUMMY as always.

Michael Chiarello's Spaghetti Times Two

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 spaghetti squash, about 2 1/2 pounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup water
1 recipe Quick Tomato Sauce (see below)
3/4 pound dried spaghetti (use Trader Joe's whole-wheat spaghetti; it's great)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

-- Roast the squash: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a rimmed baking sheet with the oil. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Season the cut sides with salt and pepper, then place on the prepared baking sheet, cut side down. Add the water to the sheet. (The water will create steam and help the squash cook through.)

-- Bake until tender. The squash will begin to collapse in on itself; about an hour. Remove and let cook on the baking sheet. When cool enough to handle, scrape the squash out of the shells in long strands and place in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper (this can be done a day ahead).

-- While the squash is baking, make the tomato sauce. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. While the pasta cooks, put 2 generous cups of cooked squash into a large pot on the stove; add the butter and melt into the squash over low heat. (If you have slightly more than 2 cups, just use it all. The sauce can absorb quite a bit of squash.). Add about two-thirds of the tomato sauce to the squash and mix together well. Add the pasta and toss well to coat. Add the 1/4 cup Parmesan and the parsely and toss again. Pour the remaining amout of sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons of grated Parm; or, don't (you can just mix all the sauce with the squash and forget about this fussy last step).

-- Eat! Love! Live!


Quick Tomato Sauce

1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes (packed in juice, not puree)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 jalapeno chili (optional, but do use it)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup drained and chopped oil-packed dried tomatoes (or homemade oven-dried tomatoes if you have them on hand)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano (The Husband says it's OK to skip it; he subbed in dried basil)

-- Open the tomatoes and pour off the juice into a bowl. Use the lid to press against the tomatoes to extract as much juice as possilbe. Then use your hand to squeeze the tomatoes to a pulp. Reserve the juice and pulp separately.

-- Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. If using the jalapeno, tilt the pan to collect the oil in a pool and drop in the whole jalapeno. Cook until light brown, about 2 minutes; take out of pan and set aside.

-- Add the oinion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly until light gold. Add the tomato juice and bring to a boil. Simmer rapidly for several minutes. Add the crushed tomato pulp. Then rinse the remaining pulp out of the can by filling it halfway with water and add that to the pan. Add the bay leaf, the jalapeno, and salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Add the dried tomatoes and sirt. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, stirring once in a while to prevent scorching, until the sauce thickens and the tomatoes have turned an orange-red versus the pale blue-red they were straight from the can, about 30 minutes. Add the oregano halfway through the cooking (or at the beginning if using dried herbs).

-- Discard the bay leaf, Peel, seed, and mash the jalapeno with a spoonful of sauce and pass at the table so people can add for spiciness.