Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

I like squash, but before this year I’d rarely made it at home. The thing is that it takes a while to prepare, and when we’re talking putting dinner on the table, I’m a quicker-is-better kind of chef. But I’m trying to remain open to new things, and I was inspired by a couple of pretty Pinterest pins and my best friend’s example (she made spaghetti squash lasagna). So, this is my first go at spaghetti squash. I’ll be back for more, because it was delicious.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Stuffed Spaghetti Squash (modified from this BS’ in the Kitchen recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1 spaghetti squash

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 plum tomato, diced

6 leaves of basil, chopped

3/4 cup grated or crumbled goat cheese

salt, pepper, paprika to taste

4 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Place squash halves open side up in a roasting dish or on a cookie sheet. Brush each side with one tablespoon olive oil, then sprinkle salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 45 minutes.

Prep the onion, tomato, basil and goat cheese, and mix together in a small bowl. When squash has finished roasting, take out of the oven and fluff the squash ‘meat’ until spaghetti-like strands appear. Fill each side with half of the goat cheese mixture, drizzle with remaining olive oil, and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper and paprika.

Return squash to oven for 15 minutes. After that, turn oven on Broil setting and roast for another 5 minutes. When finished broiling, take out, let cool for a couple of minutes, and serve! Makes 2 generous portions.

The basil, tomato and cheese combo gives this dish a little summery flare, but it is definitely a filling comfort food when all assembled. Half of the squash felt like a large portion – you won’t need anything else on the plate.