Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Chunky Tomato Sauce
Nov 30, 2011
I've mentioned previously that I love embracing the fall weather and all the great seasonal produce - not only is eating seasonally cheaper than buying all of the out-of-season stuff, but the produce is fresher and will taste that much better. Try finding a suitable tomato in the Mid Atlantic in winter - I dare you. And if you do find one, please, send it to me. Until then, I'll stick to canned tomatoes (which aren't all that bad, when you're making tomato sauce), which is what I used in this spaghetti squash gratin with chunky tomato sauce recipe from Cooking Light. I made this a few times last year and we really enjoyed it, so I was excited to make it again this year. Spaghetti squash is just fun - and in this dish, the combination of squash, tomato, and ricotta has a bit of a (healthy) lasagna feeling going on. I also love how you get a few servings of vegetables in one go with this dish - all you need is a side salad and a whole grain roll or some baguette and you've got a healthy, yummy dinner.
Spaghetti Squash Gratin with Chunky Tomato Sauce
serves 6-8 as a main course
Ingredients:
- 1 (2-pound) spaghetti squash
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I like it spicy)
- 2 (28-ounce) cans no-salt-added whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or diced tomatoes, either way)
- 1 tsp dried oregano, divided (or use fresh oregano)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese - get the nicest, freshest, highest-quality ricotta you can find
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Pierce squash with a sharp knife (I pierced it about 10 times all over the squash). Put it on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 6-8 minutes. Turn squash over, and microwave another 6-8 minutes, until squash is soft. Alternatively, you can bake the squash in your 400 degree oven for an hour (but I'm not that patient). Cool. Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds. Scrape inside of squash with a fork to remove spaghetti-like strands to measure 4 cups.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, 1/2 tsp oregano, and basil; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
- Combine remaining 1/2 tsp salt, remaining 1/4 tsp black pepper, remaining 1/2 tsp oregano, Parmesan, and ricotta.
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spoon the squash strands into the dish (or you can use the ramekins here, like the original recipe instructs). Spoon tomato sauce over squash; carefully spread ricotta mixture over tomato sauce. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until lightly browned.
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