Spaghetti Squash with Sausage & Pomodoro Sauce

While I was up in Syracuse visiting my parents over Columbus Day weekend, I went with my mother and sister to the Syracuse Farmer’s Market.  One of the purchases I made, besides a beautiful outdoor Mum for $3.50, was a gigantic spaghetti squash for $2.  This thing was huge and weighed close to 5 pounds.  I love spaghetti squash because you can interchangeably use it like pasta except it’s a lot healthier and is a tasty alternative.  I adapted this recipe from Epicurious making several changes including adding Italian sausage.  It was delicious and very satisfying.  My husband and I were so full that we had enough left over for both of us to bring to lunch!

Have you ever tried making spaghetti squash?  How do you like to prepare it?

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 4 Italian sausages
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes or 28 oz. can
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Fresh basil
• salt & fresh ground pepper for seasoning
• Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Halve squash lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
3. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and lay halves, flesh side down, on sheet. Bake 35 minutes or until you can easily pierce shell.
4. While squash bakes, saute sausages over medium-low heat until cooked through and allow to cook.
5. In another pan, sauté garlic and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes.
6. Add remaining ingredients except fresh basil and Parmesan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Lower heat if sauce begins to boil.
7. Remove squash from oven. Scrape crosswise to pull strands from shell.
8. Slice sausage into bite-sized pieces and add to sauce.
9. Pour sauce over squash and garnish with basil and Parmesan cheese.

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