I’m an Italian girl that loves her pasta… except when the pasta stops loving her back, then it’s war. You don’t piss off an Italian and get away with it!
When I learned quite a while ago that I had an issue with gluten, I limited eating pasta to almost never, which was so hard. I love me some pasta! But that kickstarted my man-hunt for pasta alternatives.
I legit have probably tried the vast majority of the pastas out there and unfortunately they have all made me feel less than amazing. Not only can I not do gluten, but I have issues with grains too – massive headaches and sinus pressure ensue. It’s not fun.
As I was on yet another quest to find a pasta alternative to be my new BFF, a friend introduced me to spaghetti squash. I was hesitant. I only liked zucchini and have never taken to the flavor or texture of other squash, so I kind of figured I wasn’t going to dig it.
Boy was I wrong!!
Granted, it’s not pasta, and you can’t make it into fun shapes like pasta, but it doesn’t hate me and it tastes great covered in sauces and in other dishes! I found this really amazing spaghetti squash bolognese recipe from one of my Medical Medium books and decided to try it for dinner one night. Sooooo amazing.
Here’s the recipe (I skipped the Brazil nut basil parmesan because I didn’t want to go to the store AGAIN, but I included it from the original recipe for you!): Ingredients:
1 large spaghetti squash
2 cups diced red onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked 5 minutes in hot water
¼ cup Brazil Nut Basil “Parmesan” (see below)
BRAZIL NUT BASIL “PARMESAN”
¼ cup Brazil nuts
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1 garlic clove
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Carefully slice the spaghetti squash in half and discard the seeds. Fill a baking tray with ½ inch of water and place the squash halves cut side down in the tray. Bake the squash for 30 to 40 minutes until one finger pressed gently into the exterior of the squash leaves an indentation. Remove the squash halves from the oven. When they are cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape down the insides of the squash creating “spaghetti” strands. Divide the squash noodles between two bowls.
To make the “Bolognese,” place the diced onion into a medium saucepan along with 2 tablespoons of water. Sauté the onion over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Continue adding water by the tablespoon as needed to prevent sticking. Add the garlic, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, chili powder, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, curry powder, sea salt, and sun-dried tomatoes to the saucepan and continue cooking, stirring frequently for 5 to 7 minutes, until the tomatoes soften. Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce ingredients together until combined but still chunky. Alternatively, transfer to a standing blender and pulse blend, making sure to leave the top ajar for steam to escape. Serve the sauce over the top of the spaghetti squash noodles. Top with the Brazil Nut Basil “Parmesan” and enjoy!
To make the Parmesan, place the brazil nuts, sea salt, basil, and garlic into the blender or food processor and pulse briefly until small crumbles form.
