{meatless monday} – spaghetti squash w/ spinach

i heart spaghetti squash.  a lot.

i love the texture, the colour, the crunch… it’s a great vegan option — in fact, why didn’t i make this on my cleanse?! i think it wasn’t available in organic at the time… anyway, here are the {uber-simple} ingredients i used :

{by the way, most of my dishes serve at least 2 with leftovers, or 3-4 smaller portions}

– 1 medium sized spaghetti squash

– 10-12 small roma tomatoes {i love san marzano}

– 1 small sweet onion, diced

– 4-6 cloves garlic, grated or diced

– 1 head spinach, chopped

– juice of one lemon

———

i’ve come to realize that many of my dishes begin with tomatoes and/or garlic, onion, lemon, etc. i am totally convinced i was european {italian for sure!} at least half a dozen times in a previous life.

begin by preheating oven to 400 degrees.  carefully slice your spaghetti squash in half length-ways and remove any ribs and seeds.  place cut-side down on a baking sheet and pop in oven when ready.

add a few turns of EVOO to a medium-heat pan and toss in your garlic and onions – saute for a few moments until they begin to brown

then add in your tomatoes and the juice of a lemon

meanwhile, chop your spinach and rinse and drain using a salad spinner if you have one on hand

cook your tomatoes down until your sauce begins to form. add in some veggie stock or white wine if desired.  definitely sprinkle in some S&P

check on your spaghetti squash after about a half hour – you’ll know when it’s done cooking when you can easily stick a fork through the outer skin… carefully remove from heat and let cool for a moment

toss in some spinach at the last minute to wilt down into your sauce… reserve a little for the plate.  scrape out the inside of the spaghetti squash on to a bed of fresh spinach, then top with your sauce…

like so.  then garnish with fresh grated parmesan cheese and devour.

lots of fun texture and flavour in this dish, it’s one of my go-tos, and hands down one of my favs!

Tags: colourful, easy, healthy, light, meatless monday, spaghetti squash, vegan, vegetarian