Cookbook:Spaghetti squash
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Also called vegetable spaghetti , this creamy-yellow, watermelon-shaped winter squash was so named because of its flesh, which, when cooked, separates into yellow-gold spaghettilike strands.
Averaging from 4 to 8 pounds, spaghetti squash are available year-round with a peak season from early fall through winter. Choose squash that are hard and smooth with an even pale yellow color. Avoid greenish squash (a sign of immaturity) and those with bruised or damaged spots.
Store uncut spaghetti squash at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. After the whole squash is baked, the rather bland-tasting strands can be removed from the shell and served with sauce, like pasta. They can also be served as part of a casserole or cold as a salad ingredient.
The skin is very tough and should generally not be eaten.
[edit] Recipes
[edit] Quick baked spaghetti squash
Cleaning out the seeds while it's raw keeps them from polluting the rest of it, using a microwave oven to steam the flesh loose speeds up the process, while baking in a conventional oven adds a delicious toasted flavor:
Slice squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and fibers, pierce flesh with fork (taking care not to penetrate shell.)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Pour 1/4 cup of water into each half and cover tightly with polyethylene plastic wrap, microwave each half separately for 8 minutes on high.
Remove plastic and pour out water (otherwise the squash will be too soggy after baking,) rake flesh from shell into loose strings with a fork and add desired flavorings (butter, maple syrup, etc…)
Place halves onto pan or cookie sheet and bake for about an hour or until some of the strings at the top and the edges of the shell begin to be toasted black and brown. Scoop stringy flesh out of shells and serve.
