Roasted Spaghetti Squash

Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise (be careful as the round shape makes it easy to roll over while cutting)

Scoop out the seeds and the filaments around the seeds.

If you want to roast the seeds – soak in a big bowl of water and agitate the seeds and they should release from the filaments. Then scoop out the seeds and compost what is left. Allow them to dry on paper towels overnight. When ready to toast, toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and any spices you may want (a pinch of curry powder, cayenne pepper, Italian herbs – they all work well). Toast on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, stir them around then toast another 5 minutes. Repeat until they are toasted brown and fragrant.

For the spaghetti squash:

Sprinkle the inside of the squash with salt and pepper and a little olive oil

Roast, cut side down, in a 350 degree oven for anywhere from 20 minutes for a smaller squash to 50 minutes for a large squash. If you insert a knife through the skin, it should go in and out very easily, if there is resistance, it needs to cook longer.

Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes then scoop the strands of flesh out with a big spoon.

The spaghetti squash can be tossed with any sauce you would use on pasta – tomato sauce, pesto, or even simply olive oil and rosemary.

For our class, we made a simple vegan pesto by pureeing 2 cups of basil leaves, 1 cup of walnuts, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast