I promised more in-depth description of some of the winter squash meal ideas, so here’s the first recipe.

Part of the appeal of this dish is its bright, contrasting red and yellow colors, especially when you serve it with broccoli, kale or another green vegetable.  Another part of the appeal is that it’s delicious.

Spaghetti squash does not taste like spaghetti.  It is not the consistency of spaghetti.  As with most dishes that involve substituting an alternative ingredient for a traditional one, spaghetti squash and meatballs shouldn’t try to taste like spaghetti and meatballs.  It’s its own dish.

Spaghetti squash fibers are thin, delicate and slightly sweet.  They go well with firm foods, tart sauces, and umami-tasting ingredients like parmesan cheese. No surprise, then, that the squash works so well in this dish.

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

1 medium spaghetti squash

3/4 lb ground beef (or mix ground beef with another meat)

3/4 cup baked potato, mashed

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 eggs, or 1 if very large

handful of fresh herbs: basil, oregano, parsley, chopped fine

salt and pepper

olive oil or butter for spaghetti squash

frying fat (I used beef fat.  You could use olive oil.)

your favorite simple tomato sauce, preferably homemade

parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Slice spaghetti squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Place face down in a baking dish and bake until soft, about 45 minutes.  Let it cool slightly.  Scoop the squash into a bowl and mix with olive oil or butter.

While the squash is baking, heat or prepare your favorite tomato sauce.  Mix meatballs: By hand, mix together meat, potato, garlic, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper.  Roll mixture into balls.  In a nonstick pan, heat fat and brown meatballs on all sides.  Set aside on a plate as you go.

Add browned meatballs to your sauce and let it cook on medium or medium-low, at least an hour.  When the flavor of sauce is permeating the meatballs, you can serve.  You can also let the leftovers continue to simmer for hours to make your next-day sauce even better.

Serve with parmesan and a dark green vegetable.

ps.  In reflection, maybe my Halloween costume as the Flying Spaghetti Monster was an inspiration for cooking this:

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