I was given my first Spaghetti Squash a couple of years ago by a neighbour but I had absolutely no idea about its spaghetti like properties and I proceeded to treat it as I would any other straightforward squash. I peeled it and chopped it (with some difficulty as it was incredibly hard!) and made soup out of it, fairly nondescript soup at that. It certainly didnt wow me; it was watery, bland and pale, saved somewhat by the copious amounts of garlic I chucked in.
Then I started to hear murmurings about this bizarre sounding squash that turned into spaghetti when roasted. It sounded down right weird but wonderful too! I didnt hold out much hope of finding one
I didnt really know what they looked like and unusual and rare ingredients can be a struggle to find here in rural heaven.
One day I was buying herbs in a rather good green grocers nearby and I saw one! They had kindly attached a sticker stating it was a Spaghetti Courge but no other instructions were supplied. I bought it and hurried home with my fabled squash, eager to unlock its spaghetti secrets.
Looking at the big yellow thing in my hands, I did wonder at how I would be able to turn it into anything even resembling spaghetti. Luckily, in this modern age, you can find the answers to just about anything on the Internet so I did a bit of research and I was ready to go.
In terms of accompaniments, I approached this in two ways. I considered what works with real spaghetti and what works with squash. I decided to make a walnut pesto assuming the walnuts would compliment the squash in a lovely autumnal way and the pesto would coat the spaghetti squash as it would do normal pasta.
It turns out that cooking a spaghetti squash could not be easier. Stab it a few times with a fork and stick it in the oven for an hour or so. Nothing mysterious or complex about that! Then cut it in half length ways, scoop out the seeds and use a fork to scrape out the astonishing spaghetti strands! This is Fun Food, it really will amaze!
I very quickly and easily knocked up a batch of walnut pesto and cooked some chicken pieces to toss into the mix and my Spaghetti Squash with Walnut Pesto & Chicken was ready to eat. It was a total triumph. The walnut pesto was strong with garlic and basil and had a texture that contrasted perfectly with the soft, moist spaghetti squash. The squash definitely yearned for a strong topping and in itself did not pack much of a flavour punch. But it has a wow factor and uniqueness that captivates. Low in fat and high in fun, I fell in love with it!
And suddenly I was seeing spaghetti squash everywhere! Happily I bought another one and set about contemplating how best to make it sing. This time I decided to give it an Asian twist and Spaghetti Squash with Thai Meatballs & Lime was the result (alternate name: Shamazeballs!) I used Chair de Saucisse to make my meatballs which is a delicious pork mince with tonnes of flavour. I think you could use the meat from some plain sausages which would work the same. I added a pinch of chilli flakes and rolled the meat into little bite size balls. I fried thick slices of red onion with the browned balls and made a sauce with grated ginger, garlic, soy, fish sauce, sesame oil and lime juice. The finished dish was fantastic, the balance of the sweet, salty sauce; the delicious meatballs and then the soft squash noodles was just supreme. It seems the possibilities with this super sexy squash are limitless.
Lastly, I had some squash left over after my Thai Meatball dish which I kept in the fridge. I didnt want to waste it so I added it to a Spicy Butternut Squash Soup and it gave texture and substance, just like adding noodles. Simple but ace!
So there you have it, the super, sexy, strange Spaghetti Squash! If you have never tried one, I urge you to seek it out and give it a go! It is versatile and remarkable and guaranteed to make you smile. Dont be scared of it, it just wants you to unlock its spaghetti secrets! It truly is fun and just makes you want to get creative. My kinda ingredient!
I entered this post into Made With Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior’s Cookin With Luv and also Simple and In Season hosted by Ren from Fabulicious Food.
I love almost any squash, but I’ve never had spaghetti squash. I’ve heard (or read) how versatile and delicious it is, so I keep telling myself to buy one and give it a go. And with these two delicious recipes, I’ve got options 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing both recipes, Anneli!
Thanks!! You must try them, I cannot sing their praises enough for being so cool and yet bizarre! Let me know if you track one down how it goes for you 🙂
Looks lovely. Now to find some spaghetti squash! I wonder if Eleclerc would be adventerous enough to stock it?
Hi Abby – I got one in the Intermarche the other day in their BIO section. Great big yellow one! Keep looking, you’ll find one xx
I love spaghetti squash Anneli and you seem to have done lovely things with yours! To answer someone else’s question, yes, E Leclerc does sell it, well they do in Saintes anyway! A great post……Karen
Thanks so much Karen! Funny how the supermarkets here can vary so much. My friend didn’t find one at E Leclerc in the end. It seems they can be a bit tricky to track down but so worth it when you do find one!
I am in love with this beautiful spaghetti squash. I will be trying to grow it next year on my allotment. It is so cool, thanks for enlightening me. I love the way you have used it and will be hoping to try it out, particularly with the thai meatballs & lime!
Thanks Laura. I hope to grow them next year also…I hear they are fairly easy so fingers crossed. I look forward to experimenting with them some more. Let me know if you make my meatballs recipe….I hope you like it !
My favourite was the meatballs, two words, amaze-ing 🙂
Thanks as always lovely husband 🙂 Shamazeballs!
What an amazing squash! I’ve heard of them but never seen one. Must look out in the local shops and for some seed to grow some next year, what fun! Squash seem to grow really easily here with all the sunshine, or maybe I’ve had lots of beginners luck. Love a pesto, though my basil’s finished now, so have been using parsley instead. The meatballs sound DIVINE!!
They are indeed amazing Louisa! I want to grow them next year too – if we are successful we should have a ‘spaghetti squash off’ recipe swop maybe?!
The pesto would be lovely just with parsley too I am sure. I recently made a pesto using Mache Lettuce which was also really nice! xx
Isn’t spaghetti squash *awesome*? I got my first one a few weeks ago… SO fun to cook with :D.
I love the sound of the thai meatballs and lime dish, although I have to say that I can’t abide chair de saucisse. Maybe the one you get is good, but in my experience it’s always a very fatty, “plain” flavour which I tire of very quickly, and plus I always seem to encounter nasty bits of bone and gristle in it (seriously: sausage meat should not have bits of bone inside… I’ve almost broken my teeth more than once!), but I digress. As long as I could find a sausage meat or mince which was good to me then I bet I’d love it, with the ginger and lime juice – yum!
Thanks Charles. Wow – your chair de saucisse sounds revolting 🙁 I have been lucky and found it be very flavoursome and without bone & gristle (thank godness!) You have given me the fear of it now though!!!! Still, this would work equally well if you squeezed the meat out of some delicious Toulouse sausages or any others you might fancy. Glad you won’t let my use of chair de saucisse put you off!
Yummmy! Mais Comment puis-je communiquer avec vous, il semble que la chance va sourire (pour vous) bientôt!!
Merci! Vous êtes toujours si aimable. Vous pouvez communiquer avec moi à anneli@delicieux.eu si vous le souhaitez. Toujours merci pour votre appréciation
I love this recipe thank you for entering it into Simple and in Season, I’ll definitely be trying it x
Thanks Ren – so glad you liked them. I love the Simple & in Season challenge and I look forward to entering again soon. Thanks x