Spaghetti Squash & Zucchini Casserole
1 spaghetti squash (I used 1/2 a 3 1/3 pound squash), halved lengthwise
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup tomato sauce or 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste + 2 ounces water
serrano chili sauce, to taste, optional
1 teaspoon dried or finely cut fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper and salt
nutritional yeast, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Carefully scrape out seeds of spaghetti squash, but do not cut into the body of the squash. Place 1/2 the squash cut side down in a pot with 2" water; cover and boil for 20 minutes.
2. For microwave, place 1/2 squash in a dish with 1/4 cup water, cover with plastic wrap and cook at high for 7 minutes.
3. Squash is 1/2 cooked. With fork, scrape out squash to produce spaghetti-like strands. A thin, hard shell will be left. Place shells in casserole dish. In a large bowl, add spaghetti squash, tomato sauce, zucchini, hot sauce, and spices.
4. Mix well and spoon into squash shell, top with nutritional yeast, a little more garlic powder, and bake for 20 minutes, or until done.
I served it with brown rice and fresh French Bread. It would be an ideal filling for a pita pocket or tortilla.
What to do with the other half of the squash? Stick it in the refrigerator for a few days, then prepare it as shown above, except microwave for 10 minutes or boil for 30, and then scrape it out and serve topped with your favorite spaghetti sauce.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was an excellent recipe! Even my omni-children (especially my pasta loving son) enjoyed everything about this. We had no leftovers (bummer). I've made this twice already and it never fails to be a favorite in the newly vegan household. I'll definitely be making this a staple in the dinner menu quite often. I've even used the sauce for other pastas and various dishes. Thank you for this!
This was surprisingly good!
My last attempt at spaghetti squash wasn't too hot - so I knew I was going to have to add a whole bunch of spices to make it flavorful enough for us.
I used the whole squash, added roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, tons of mexican oregano and sweet basil and used a jar of pasta sauce. I poured a little of my leftover nutritional yeast sauce over the top, which gave it a nice casserole look - I tried to take a picture, but it didn't come out very good - it actually made it look quite gross.
My only problem with it was that it was very watery. I've been trying to think of ways of avoid that - maybe rice at the bottom? Or I could just drain it.....whatever, it was good.
This was pretty good overall. It took a lot longer than it said (but I doubled the recipe). It was worth the effort, however. I dug it, and I don't usually like squash. Two thumbs up :D
). My parents loved the flavor, and found the texture to be a bit of a surprise since they were thinking 'pasta' more than 'squash' when they heard what it was, but they enjoyed it.