To someone who has never made it before, spaghetti squash seems so intimidating.  Somehow I’m supposed to take something that looks like a regular, unremarkable squash and turn it into something that looks like spaghetti? Turns out it’s not so hard after all.  Then tossed with cheese and some fresh parsley, it makes a great pasta substitute for those looking to go gluten free or just upgrade to a healthy option.

To get squash into cooked form, you just jab a couple of vents in it with a knife (to keep the thing from exploding inside your oven, the recipe explains!) and bake it for at least an hour until it’s soft, much like baking a potato in the oven. Next, cut it in half and scrape out the seeds, without removing too much of the flesh.  To create the “spaghettis”, just scrape the remaining flesh with a fork and scoop it out from the skin.  Toss it with some butter, gruyere cheese, garlic and fresh parsley, and season with salt and pepper to complete the dish.

You can tell a dish is really good when all I have is a photo of the leftovers ready for another day’s meal.

Spaghetti Squash with Gruyere Cheese, via The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds)
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Puncture spaghetti squash with a knife in a few places. Bake squash in a 375 degree oven for at least on hour, until it is slightly soft to the touch.
2. Halve squash and scrape out seeds. Rake remaining flesh with a fork to separate the spaghetti strands.
3. Add cheese, parsley, garlic, and butter, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.