Author Notes
Inspired by a recipe from Sprouted Kitchen, I roasted spaghetti squash, tossed the strands with ground meat, sauce, and cheese, and baked it all back in the squash. It's similar to a stuffed pepper, and it's perfect winter comfort food. Feel free to adapt the filling to your tastes. You can easily leave out the meat and tomato sauce to make it vegetarian: Line the shell with pesto, and toss the squash and cheese with more pesto. —Posie (Harwood) Brien
Ingredients
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2
spaghetti squash
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1 pound
ground chicken (or turkey or beef)
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1
clove garlic, minced
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1
yellow onion, diced
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1
large bunch kale, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1" pieces
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1/2 teaspoon
red pepper flakes (optional)
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2 cups
shredded fresh mozzarella, divided
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8 ounces
fresh ricotta
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2 cups
grated fresh Parmesan, divided
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2 teaspoons
dried oregano
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2 teaspoons
dried thyme
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1 tablespoon
dried basil
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2 cups
tomato puree
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1/2 cup
tomato paste
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salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
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Preheat your oven to 400° F. Halve the squash lengthwise, scrape out the seeds in the inside, and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast them, cut side up, on a parchment-lined baking sheet until soft (about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the squash). Remove from the oven, but leave the oven on.
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As the squash is cooling, heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground meat, season with salt and pepper, and cook (breaking it up with a wooden spoon) until well-browned. Transfer to a plate and don't wipe out the pan.
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If the pan seems dry, add a bit more oil. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds on medium-high heat, then add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 3 minutes).
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Add the kale and cook for a few minutes until the kale wilts. If you like a spicier dish, add the optional red pepper flakes here.
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Using a fork, scrape the strands of squash out from the shell, leaving the shell intact. Transfer all the squash to a very large mixing bowl, and add the cooked ground meat and the kale mixture.
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Reserve 1/2 cup of the mozzarella and the parmesan, and mix the remaining cheese, tomato puree, and all the herbs into the squash mixture. Season with salt and pepper and stir it all together.
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Divide the tomato paste between the four squash shells and rub the shells with it. Divide the squash mixture evenly amongst each shell (if you have too much, just save it and eat it from a bowl!). Top with the remaining cheese and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until hot and the cheese bubbles. I like to turn the broiler on for a minute or two at the end to get the cheese extra toasty.
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Serve hot.
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