Spaghetti squash bake

Tucked into the corner of my birthday veggie bag was something heavy, oval-shaped, and pale yellow. I lifted it out and laughed in happy disbelief – a spaghetti squash!

I adore spaghetti squash, and cooked with it all the time when I lived in Vancouver. But since moving to the UK, I’ve had it exactly once. When I arrived almost twenty years ago, it was very difficult to get any type of squash in the supermarkets. Over time butternut, acorn and kabocha squash have found a regular place in the produce section. but there have been less sightings of spaghetti squash than the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

What to do with this elusive creature? Eventually I decided to make a cheesy squash bake. I’d planned to mix everything together, then pile it back into the half shells to bake and serve. But I’d halved the squash so unequally that wasn’t an option, and I ended up cooking it in a small casserole dish instead.

I served it with a tossed salad – a perfect autumn lunch for two.

Spaghetti squash bake
(serves 2)

• 1 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• 1 Tb butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, comté, emmethal, gruyere would all work)
• salt and pepper

1.  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the squash halves face down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake about half an hour, or until the skin is easily pierced by the tip of a knife. Set aside to cool.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, and sauté the onion until golden. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more, then remove from the heat.
3. Scrape the flesh from the squash halves into the frying pan, and mix well. Fold in the yogurt and half the grated cheese. Season to taste.
4. Either carefully spoon the mixture back into the two empty squash shells (arranged on the baking sheet) or into a small oven-proof dish. Sprinkle the top(s) with the remaining grated cheese.
5. Return the squash mixture to the oven and bake another 20-30 minutes, until the top is nicely browned.

Tags: cheese, gluten-free, spaghetti squash, vegetarian