Cooking Spaghetti Squash

[BakerAunt]

I've only cooked spaghetti squash once. I just watched a video of how Ken Haedrich cooks spaghetti squash, and the method looks interesting (as well as the accompanying recipe).:

Spaghetti Squash and Parmesan Cheese Quiche

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[luvpyrpom]

I remember cooking spaghetti squash many years ago - at first I liked it but then when I made it again, there was an aftertaste I wasn't too keen on. It's like butternut squash, loved it a couple years ago and now can't stand the taste of it.

[Mike Nolan]

The first few times I tried spaghetti squash, I didn't really care for it, but I've grown to like it. I think I undercooked it a few times, it should NOT be crunchy!

(My wife tolerates it, but likes the meatballs and sauce I usually make to go with it.)

I simply cut the squash in half, dig out the seeds in the center, spray the inside with oil and season it, place it face down on parchment paper, oil the outside, and cook it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the inside separates from the outer shell. Let it cool for a little while (unless you have asbestos fingers), then scrape out the insides with a fork so that you get long strands.

[chocomouse]

I've tried and tried to like spaghetti squash, but finally just gave up, until I saw a recipe on-line for Pizza Spaghetti Squash. I'll try to find the recipe and post or link to it. Basically, cook the squash, just as Mike posted above, but don't scrape out the cooked squash, leave it right in the shell as a serving dish. Add pizza sauce, pepperoni or sausage, onions, peppers, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, broccoli, or whatever you like on pizza, and sprinkle with mozzarella or your preferred cheese. Bake for a short time just to heat up all the ingredients and melt the cheese. I will make this again. next summer when I have fresh squash. I guess I just think spaghetti squash is a poor excuse for pasta! If I could find a recipe that is not at all an "imitation" pasta with marinara type dish, I might like it. I am going to try the quiche that BakerAunt posted here, too. It's sort of like pretending that spiralized zuchinni is pasta - not for me. I just think of it as zuchinni in a different shape.

[Mike Nolan]

I think my wife would agree with you on spaghetti squash as a less than perfect substitute for pasta, but it is a lot less carbs.

I think the type of oil you use makes a big difference. I used to use canola oil, but it can have a bitter undertaste, so I've switched back to corn oil. (Olive oil is too assertive for us, and both a close friend and my brother-in-law are allergic to olives, so I seldom cook with it.)

[BakerAunt]

Lately I've been using grapeseed oil when I want a neutral oil with a high heat tolerance.

I just can't bring myself to use spaghetti squash as a base for sauce. I see possibilities in this quiche simply because it does not try to be pasta. If I can find a good spaghetti squash at the store, I'll try this recipe.

[skeptic7]

I've microwaved spaghetti squash. I was disappointed in the short strands of flesh, it didn't feel very spaghetti like. I haven't eaten it in sometime, I'll have to try it again soon.

[cwcdesign]

I've not liked spaghetti squash in the past, but saw a recipe (I think I wrote about it in another link) that looked really good and thought I'd try again. I roasted the squash, cut in half and seeds removed, which was a better texture. The recipe recommended squeezing the moisture out before using which I did. The problem I have with spaghetti squash is that it doesn't really absorb the sauce ingredients; it just stays spaghetti squash and I'm not a fan of its taste. Too much work. I prefer using cauliflower to save carbs.

[skeptic7]

The quiche recipe looks good.

[BakerAunt]

Ok, today I decided to make the spaghetti squash quiche recipe for lunch--Hah! It is in the oven now, and although I started working on it shortly after 10 a.m., it won't be done until almost 3. I'm hoping that I can talk my husband into having it as dinner.

I thought that the quiche pan Haedrich was using was a bit small, but it may also be that the one I have exaggerated its claim to be 9 1/2 inches, I think maybe it was more like 9 inches. And maybe I put too much of the spaghetti squash in. At any rate, I had overflow when I was adding the egg mixture even before I put it in the oven (should have stopped with the sauce sooner). I scrambled some still leftover egg-milk mixture and ate it separately. I wish that I had paid attention to my instincts and used the 11-inch quiche pan with removable bottom that I have and made a bigger crust. (Somewhere I'm sure that I have a 10-inch tart pan with removable sides. Sigh. I keep waiting for our contractor to get off of his current job and get with the remodeling.) I am not looking forward to clean-up. I did have the crust on a rimmed pan, but I had not thought to line that pan with parchment.

On the positive side, I adapted a recipe that I have for a cornmeal pie crust and used that for the quiche. It came together well and blind baked well.

I'll report separately on taste, etc.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I was able to persuade my husband to have the quiche for dinner--or maybe it was the mayhem of dishes in the kitchen at 3 p.m. that was the persuading argument. We ate the quiche at room temperature. It was good, but next time we will warm it up for 10-12 minutes at 300F as Haedrich suggests.

I will try this recipe again. To cut down on the long block of time, I might roast the spaghetti squash earlier and make the quiche crust earlier.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.

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